Family Matters
by allonsysilvertongue
Summary: Haymitch was determined to live his life in peace, in his own corner of the world after the war. But the presence of a young teenage boy shattered that hope as his life was pulled into a different direction. Hayffie. Post Mockingjay.
1. Chapter 1

**I was studying for my exams when this plot merrily skip into my head. So, naturally, I had to write it out. **

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Chapter One

A knock sounded on his door. Haymitch ignored it, pulling the covers up his head. The sun was high in the sky, the town at the corner of District Twelve already busy with citizens haggling for a good price of whatever item they sought. But Haymitch determined to live life as his own, adamantly refused to partake in such trivialities like waking up early.

Somebody knocked twice. Still, he ignored it until the knock turned into a musical. Whoever was rapping on his door was persistent.

"You vermin!" he shouted as he pulled the door open.

A boy, about fourteen years of age stared at him wide eyed, his hand poised for another round of quirky knocks.

"Uh - hello?"

"Get off my property," Haymitch snarled.

"I beg your pardon, sir. I'm here for Mr. Haymitch Abernathy," said the boy.

Haymitch frowned. His eyes narrowed at the boy in front of him. His blue eyes looked at Haymitch expectantly, swallowing his own fear as he waited for the drunk in front of him to give an answer.

"You're looking at him," he said.

The boy wrinkled his nose in response. "Well, she did say you would smell," he muttered. "So I believe you're really him. May I please come in?"

Haymitch concluded right then that whoever the boy is, he was from the Capitol. The manners and politeness was testament to it.

"You woke me up with one hell of a knock so you might as well," Haymitch grumbled as he stepped aside to allow the stranger in. The boy grinned, his pale blue eyes looked surprisingly proud.

"It was interesting, wasn't it? I like music so it just occurred to me that maybe if - "

"Who the hell are you?"

"Oh. I'm Emmanuel Trinket."

XxX

Haymitch pinched the bridge of his nose. He had not heard the name Trinket in a couple of years. Haymitch twirled a chair around and sat on it, gesturing for Emmanuel to take a seat on the sofa.

"And how are you related to Effie Trinket?"

"I'm her nephew."

He exhaled the breath he didn't know he had been holding. He had slept with Effie once, a long time ago when they were both drunk and miserable. But even as he mentally calculated the time frame from when he had slept with Effie to what he guessed was the boy's age, Emmanuel couldn't be his. He didn't even resemble any part of Haymitch. _Not a long lost hidden love child_, he sighed in relief.

"My parents are dead; killed when the rebels attacked my home. Aunt Effie took me in. She's the only family I have left."

"Okay..." Haymitch started uncertainly. "So did you get lost? You're a long way away from home."

It had been two years since the rebellion and he had not seen Effie since then. He had no idea what happened to her. Haymitch thought Effie would have called but she hadn't so he assumed she was still angry with him for leaving the night the Victors' escaped from the arena. He left her alone since then, wary of incurring her wrath. The guilt for leaving her behind was still there and he thought it was better to let her heal and live her life.

"I ran away."

Haymitch rolled his eyes. It seemed like a typical thing to do for a teenager to do. He knew teenage angst all too well.

"Effie's manners too much for you to handle?" he asked snidely.

Emmanuel clicked his tongue in displeasure. "Don't speak of her that way."

Haymitch raised both his hands, palm outwards to convey that he meant no harm. The boy exhaled slowly and scuffed the pointed end of his shoes on Haymitch's floor.

"Who are you running away from?"

"Social and Family Services," he told Haymitch quietly. Haymitch's eyebrows knitted together. From what little he gleaned from the newspaper, the Social and Family Services had been set up to deal with the sudden influx of post-war orphans. He could not even begin to fathom the workings of Emmanuel's mind and why he thought coming to District Twelve was the best way to hide from the statutory board. Or why he needed hiding from them in the first place.

"Doesn't explain what you're doing at my house, boy."

Emmanuel sighed loudly, biting his bottom lip as he thought over how best to phrase it.

"I need your help, sir. Please. I don't know what else to do. Effie's in trouble. She's in a psychiatric ward at the Capitol. The family services got wind of it and found her unsuitable to be my legal guardian. Please, sir, I don't want to go back to the system. They'll send me to another family or to an orphanage. Effie's my aunt. She's my only family. My father would want me to stay with his sister."

Haymitch stared at the boy who looked close to tears but to his credit, Emmanuel managed to hold himself together. All the years that they've worked together, Haymitch never knew Effie had a brother, or a nephew. Now that he thought about it, Effie hardly talked much about her personal life. It was always those superficial topics with her – fashion, gossips, fine dining – never anything personal.

"Sir?"

"When was she admitted?" Haymitch asked, focusing on the present problem.

"About a month ago. I don't know what's wrong with her. Before she was admitted, we were robbed on our way home from dinner and .. I don't know. She became different – she got irritated easily, she scolded me a lot for messing things up. I don't think she even slept at night ever since then."

"She has nightmares?" Haymitch probed further.

"Yes, she does. I can hear her whimpering and screaming from my bedroom at night. One morning, she was preparing breakfast when she accidentally cut herself. She saw the blood and started screaming. I called the ambulance, brought her to the hospital and then… Well, they transferred her to the ward."

The frown never left Haymitch's face as he internalised the information Emmanuel was telling him.

"The family services came to the hospital and I overhead them talking about how Effie was not in any position to be my guardian. I panicked and ran away. I shouldn't have. My aunt's all alone but I – I don't want to go back."

"How'd you know to find me?"

Emmanuel gave him an odd look as though Haymitch had just asked him a stupid question.

"You worked with her," he stated matter of factly. "You're her friend."

Haymitch's eyebrows rose and disappeared into his hair line at such a simple, juvenile statement.

"She told me about you before ... before she got sick. Effie said you rescued her from prison. You were the first person I thought of," he shrugged. Then his expression turned earnest, even hopeful. "You've helped her once. You can help her again. Please, Mr. Abernathy."

"Okay, first of all, you can stop with the 'Mr Abernathy' bullshit. You can call me Haymitch. Secondly, I'm sorry, kid, I can't – I don't know how to help her."

XxX

Emmanuel looked as though he had been slapped across the face. He stared at Haymitch uncomprehendingly. Haymitch didn't think the boy had even considered the possibility of Haymitch not being able to help.

His lips started to quiver as he stared hard at the hands clasped on his lap. Haymitch fidgeted. He cannot deal with someone crying in his presence. When a tribute cried after their names were reaped, Haymitch had left Effie to deal with it since she was the one who picked their names. But Effie wasn't here.

"Come on. Stand up, we're going to Peeta's house. I don't suppose you've had anything to eat since you ran away," he mused. Emmanuel shook his head and followed Haymitch out of the house.

Within minutes of their arrival, Peeta had Emmanuel settled down with some light sandwiches and fruit juice. As he ate, Haymitch briefly updated Peeta and Katniss about the situation at hand, discussing it at the living room away from Emmanuel.

"You can't just leave Effie like that, Haymitch. We've got to do something," Peeta said worriedly.

"Yeah? Like what? Rescue her out of a psychiatric hospital? Did it occur to you that maybe she's in the hospital because she needs treatment?" Haymitch replied hotly.

"Treatment for what?" came Katniss' confused respond.

"How would I know?" Haymitch sounded irritated. He walked into the kitchen where Emmanuel was slowly nibbling on his sandwich and pulled out a bottle of wine. "Finish your food," he snarled at the startled boy.

"Maybe that's what you need to find out – what's wrong with Effie!" Peeta said as soon as Haymitch entered the living room.

XxX

Emmanuel had nodded off somewhere between District Nine and Eight. Haymitch glanced at Emmanuel's sleeping form, his head resting against the glass window of the train and fished out the silver hip flask from his pocket.

They left District Twelve that morning for the Capitol. Haymitch was still trying to figure out how he came to be on this journey when he could be at home, sleeping on his sofa with a bottle of whiskey in his hands.

Peeta and Katniss had offered to look after Emmanuel while Haymitch travel to the Capitol to see what could be done about Effie but the boy had insisted that he came along.

"Just promise me you won't let them take me away," he had pleaded before they boarded the train.

Haymitch sighed, knowing exactly what he meant. "I'll try my best. Get on the train."

"Haymitch, Haymitch wake up. The train's stopped," Emmanuel shook his arm lightly. He blinked sleepily and sat up straight, peering out of the window to find that the train had indeed stopped to refuel.

"I'm gonna stretch my legs," Haymitch announced as he walked out of the cabin.

"I'm going with you!"

The urge to roll his eyes was overwhelming. All he wanted was sometime away from the boy. They roamed around District Five before Emmanuel announced that he was starving and they settled in at small restaurant for breakfast.

"Aunt Effie will be delighted to see you," he grinned, cutting his pancake in half.

Haymitch drained his coffee and asked for a refill, throwing Emmanuel a sceptical glance. "I doubt so."

"I know she will. She told me once that she never got the chance to thank you for saving her."

Emmanuel talked as they finished their breakfast which left Haymitch to conclude that the ability to talk without stopping for breath must have run in the Trinket's blood. Haymitch nodded once in a while, but his mind had wandered off. He had no idea what he had gotten himself into. He was simply gate crashing into a problem he knew nothing about.

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**Disclaimer: I only claim Emmanuel Trinket. The rest of the characters are not mine. And that knock, i got the idea from People Like Us. **

**Please leave a review, it helps the writing process when you know what people think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for your reviews! Helps keep me motivated!**

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Chapter Two

"Will she recognise you?"

"Of course she will. She's not crazy!" Emmanuel frowned, looking extremely offended that Haymitch even thought to ask such question. Haymitch shrugged not knowing how to respond to that statement. Quite frankly, he had no idea what to expect from the whole situation.

They had arrived at the Capitol that afternoon. Emmanuel had led the way, bringing them both to the hospital where Effie was at. He had been jittery and restless especially as the taxi neared their destination.

"You okay? You look like you're going to have a seizure," Haymitch commented dryly.

"Do I look okay to you? I ran away. I left without telling Effie where I was going. She's going to be so mad, I'll be grounded until I grow a beard."

Haymitch chuckled. "You're more scared of her than the family services, eh?"

"Well, that too. What if they're waiting for me at the hospital, Haymitch? Waiting to take me away?"

Haymitch rested a hand on Emmanuel's shoulder and the boy stopped walking to look at him. "That's not going to happen."

A ghost of a smile graced Emmanuel's face. He nodded and mumbled quietly, "thanks."

They hardly knew each other but within that two days Haymitch had spent with Emmanuel since he came knocking on his door, he learnt that the kid was just scared. The life that he knew had been ripped out from below his feet when his family was killed and Haymitch knew exactly how painful it was to lose everything. Haymitch had been older than him when the Capitol destroyed his life and he had tried to cope with alcohol. Emmanuel was only twelve when he had to readjust his life and learnt to live with his aunt who Haymitch assumed was as broken as him from the war. The scrawny boy with pale blue eyes and jet black hair was only trying to keep what was left of his family together. It just so happen that Haymitch had the misfortune to be dragged along into it.

They walked down the quiet hallway of the hospital, neither of them talking to each other. For the most part, the nurses on duty ignored them as they made their way to Effie's assigned room. Most were too busy to notice Emmanuel and it seemed to put him slightly at ease.

They came to a stop in front of a closed white door. Emmanuel knocked three times, none of the quirky knocks he had bestowed on Haymitch a few days ago.

"Hello Effie," he greeted softly, announcing himself. He walked quietly into the room, mindful of startling his aunt.

Haymitch meant to follow Emmanuel as he entered the room but decided to hang back. He would take his cue from Effie's reaction to Emmanuel's reappearance. He leaned against the door frame; his eyes drawn to the small figure sitting on the window ledge, overlooking a small pond at the hospital's courtyard.

"Emmanuel?" Effie asked, instantly recognising the familiar voice. She opened up her arms and Emmanuel walked into it, pulling Effie into a hug. "Where have you been, sweetie? I was so worried. Please don't do that again. They came and asked me questions about you. I had to make excuses because I had no idea where you were! It reflects badly on me, do you understand?"

Emmanuel looked down at his shoes, a guilty expression settling on his face. Then he straightened up.

"I'm sorry. I had a good reason for leaving. I went to get some help," he answered simply, turning to look at Haymitch. Effie followed his gaze and when she saw Haymitch standing by the door, she gasped.

Effie looked at her nephew and back again at Haymitch as though she can't quite believe her eyes. She pushed herself off the ledge and stumbled forward, her legs buckling from the sudden movement.

"Easy there, sweetheart."

Effie made a noise somewhere between a sob and a laugh as Haymitch caught her in his arms, while Emmanuel gripped her upper arm instinctively. They guided her back to bed.

"You went to get Haymitch?" Effie asked her nephew. His brows were creased, unsure if Effie was angry that he had done so.

"I'm sorry," she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Haymitch. I didn't know he would do such a thing. I never thought he would even know how to get to your house."

"I'm _fourteen,_" he rolled his eyes, his worry temporarily vanishing the moment his abilities came into question. "I can find my way."

"Yeah, maybe we could both think of an appropriate punishment for him; for running away _and_ disrupting my peace," he sneered, looking at Emmanuel who looked quite green at the prospect.

Effie's eyes darted back and forth between Emmanuel and Haymitch. She laughed at the look on Emmanuel's face. Emmanuel dragged his chair to the farthest corner of the room with a scowl on his face, and immersed himself in a magazine he found on Effie's nightstand.

"Now, you want to tell me why you're here?" Haymitch asked as he settled down on another empty chair.

"They're saying post-traumatic stress disorder," Effie began. "The doctors –"

"Two years after the war?" Haymitch interrupted.

"I was robbed; a man held a knife to my throat. The doctors are convinced that the incident must have triggered the memories of the original traumatic event- what happened when I was, you know, a prisoner. They talked to me a lot to find out what happened when I was robbed and well, they explained that the fear I felt must have reminded me of prison. I was already vulnerable to anxiety and stress, thanks to President Snow keeping me in a cell and another traumatic event, in my case the robbery just … Well, I fell apart."

She laughed nervously, looking extremely embarrassed to even admit that to anyone, much less him.

"I kept thinking I was in danger, that I'm going to die and Emmanuel would be alone again. I became anxious. I had nightmares and flashbacks of being tortured."

Emmanuel looked up at the word torture, throwing Haymitch a worried look.

"Come here," Haymitch beckoned and handed him some cash. "Why don't you go and find us something to eat?"

Effie waited until the doors closed behind him before speaking up again. "I feel terrible, Haymitch. I remember being extremely irritated at everything. I snapped at Emmanuel for such trivial little things. I'm not surprised he ran away."

"Hey, listen, he ran away because he was afraid. He thought the family services was going to take him away from the only family he had left. He didn't run away because he hated you. He was –"

Haymitch stopped abruptly. If he didn't know better, he would say he was trying to comfort Effie Trinket. He wasn't even aware he had it in him to extend such comfort to another human being.

"So why are they keeping you here?" Haymitch asked.

Effie shrugged. "They wanted to make sure that I'm sleeping well, taking my medications and they're observing me, basically. I could have been released but, I had no one who would monitor me at home. They're saying lack of support after trauma was one of the causes of post-traumatic stress disorder."

_Lack of support. _

Haymitch clenched his jaw. He had rescued her, and then left her alone after the war ended. Effie had always portrayed herself as someone who was capable of handling all sorts of situation. She knew how to manage herself as well as others when the situation was difficult. How was he supposed to know that she would break?

_She was always delicate, that should have clued you in,_ he chided himself. Still, he debated with himself. He saved her from clutches of the Capitol. That should have been enough. He didn't owe her anything more than that. But the guilt roiling in his blood told him otherwise.

Effie was still talking and Haymitch forced himself to listen.

"… they have a support group here. A therapy of some sort – a group session and an individual one. I get to talk about my worries, fears and 'facing my trauma' so I could heal," she said crooking her fingers sarcastically.

XxX

Emmanuel and Haymitch stayed with Effie until visiting hours were over. When the doctor walked in, he did a double take at the boy who was fiddling with the call buttons beside the bed. Emmanuel noticed the look and began to fidget restlessly.

"Don't worry; your aunt's getting better," the doctor reassured him. "Now that you're back, Effie, would you like me to call the family services on your behalf? Tell them your nephew's safe?"

Emmanuel's head snapped up to look at the doctor. He looked alarmed.

"They would take me away," Emmanuel stated. "You can't do that. They'll send me back because she's still in the hospital! Look, there's someone here who could help her. Just – please don't call them first."

Haymitch raised an eyebrow. The boy's unwavering belief that he could help Effie was worrying him.

The doctor shook his head. "You would not be taken away as long as your aunt has someone capable of maintaining your welfare while she receives treatment. I'm assuming that you have someone in mind for the time being?" he asked, looking at Haymitch questioningly.

"Uh. No, I'm actually – "

"He's a family friend, doctor. I've known him for years. We used to work together. Surely you remember?" Effie said, trying to jog the doctor's memory. "I trust him with my nephew and he'll look after Emmanuel till I'm released."

"Wait - What?!" Haymitch's head swivelled sharply at her direction.

"He will?" Emmanuel asked, surprised at that unexpected solution.

Effie gave them a sharp look before turning to address her doctor. "Doctor, if you could excuse us?"

"You expect me to do what?" "I'm supposed to stay with Haymitch? But – "

Effie raised a palm to silence the two males standing at the foot of her bed. "It's temporary. Haymitch, please? I know this is a huge favour to ask from you and I know how much you'd rather be back home at District Twelve, I really do. I'm sorry we're disrupting your life but I can't think of anyone else. Unless … Peeta and Katniss…?" she trailed off uncertainly.

Haymitch rubbed his forehead.

"Emmanuel, you went to Haymitch for a reason. You wanted him to help you," Effie spoke to him.

"I wanted him to help _you. _He's the first person I thought of because you told me how he helped you once. I thought he could help you again," Emmanuel muttered as he took a seat at the edge of Effie's bed. "I never thought that –"

"You could help me by staying with him. Just for a while. It's the only viable way at the moment and it'll give me a peace of mind to know that you're safe." Effie spoke quietly to him. Effie did not need to point out that stress would worsen her situation. Emmanuel was smart enough to understand.

Haymitch looked up sharply when he heard their conversation. She trusted him enough to keep her nephew safe. He thought that was unfair because now he felt obligated to actually help the pair in front of him. He watched as Emmanuel thought it over and glanced over his shoulder at Haymitch.

"Okay, I don't mind," he agreed.

"Haymitch? I'll return the favour once I'm better. I'll do anything," Effie pleaded.

_"… promise me you won't let them take me away."_

While he had not technically promised Emmanuel anything, he did say that he would try his best and turning his back now would not constitute 'trying'. Then there was the little scene earlier that day, when he had assured Emmanuel he would not be taken from his aunt.

His eyes flickered to the teenager looking at him hopefully. Haymitch was his last hope. "Please, sir."

"Fine," Haymitch acquiesced after a long pause.

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**See you in Chapter 3 where we'll see how Emmanuel & Haymitch cope with each other. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I would just like to claim Emmanuel Trinket, the rest of the characters belong to Collins.**

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Chapter Three

"We're here," Emmanuel announced, sliding the key into place.

"Nice place," Haymitch commented, walking around inspecting Effie Trinket's home. He had never been to her apartment before and Emmanuel, who had talked non-stop on their way home from the hospital had told him how the buildings around the area had surprisingly survived the bombing.

Haymitch picked up one of the photos on the mantelpiece. It was a picture of Effie with her arms around Emmanuel who looked to be about eight. Surprisingly, Haymitch recognised the outfit she was wearing - a pale yellow wig with a cream coloured blouse and heels that could kill – from a reaping years ago. The photo must have been taken just before she departed the Capitol for District Twelve. The photo next to it was quite recent. Effie had her natural hair tied into a knot, a few tendrils framing her face and she was wearing a summer dress. Emmanuel stood next to her making a weird, funny face.

"Umm, this is the guest bedroom, you could sleep here, I suppose."

Haymitch placed the frame back and followed Emmanuel to the room. The bedroom was nicely decorated. The walls were painted blue and adorned with photographs of different Capitol sceneries before it fell to ruins from the bombing. The rebuilding effort had restored most of the Capitol infrastructure but it held none of its superficial former glory under Snow's reign.

"My father was a photographer. He took those pictures and gave them to Aunt Effie," Emmanuel told him, sitting on the bed.

"Oh. They're nice," Haymitch offered lamely. He had no appreciation for abstract art or for Capitol scenery for that matter.

Emmanuel nodded, seemingly satisfied with that comment.

"I have school tomorrow. It's the last week before the school break," he said. "Can I not go?"

"Not go to school?"

"Yeah. We just arrived from District Twelve. I'm exhausted. There's just so much going on and you know…" he trailed off.

Haymitch shrugged his shoulders in response which Emmanuel took as a sign that Haymitch had given his permission.

"You're awesome!" he jumped to his feet. "I think we're going to work out just fine," he said happily, and ran out of the room.

A door slammed shut and music began to play from within. Haymitch uncapped his flask, drinking the burning liquid slowly. He thought about going over to Emmanuel's room with the full intention of telling the boy that he would not be responsible for truancy. His intentions died before he could even act on it. Haymitch had drifted off to sleep once his head hit the pillow; the silver flask fell to the floor with a soft clink as the exhaustion enveloped him like a cloak.

XxX

When he woke up next, it was already bright outside. Haymitch blinked groggily and looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. Slowly, the events of the day before began to filter into his mind.

He stumbled out of his room and over to where he assumed Emmanuel's room was. The door was shut so he gave it a knock. "Emmanuel! Hey, kid, wake up!"

Haymitch waited, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he yawned. After a few seconds of silence, he turned the knob in his hand and pushed the door open, surprised to find that Emmanuel had not locked it.

The boy was sprawled on his bed, a book covering his face. _Antonio Stradivari; An Autobiography,_ Haymitch read the title silently. He picked the book and flipped through its pages, his eyes picking up words that held no interest to him – string instruments, violins, guitars – until he recalled that when they first met, Emmanuel had told him his love for music.

He snapped the book shut and tapped it against the sleeping boy's stomach. "Wake up!"

Emmanuel continued sleeping and Haymitch, already grumpy from having woken up at a different house, did not have the patience to gently wake the teenager up. He pulled the pillow from right under Emmanuel's head and it thudded heavily against the edge of the bed.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head, instantly awake and alert. "That's not how you wake someone up."

"That's not how Effie wakes you up, maybe," Haymitch grumbled. "Where does Effie keep her alcohol? Or wine," Haymitch asked.

"I don't know. She didn't make it a habit to inform me where she kept those drinks," Emmanuel rolled his eyes. 'And it's eleven in the morning! Honestly."

Haymitch stared after him as Emmanuel walked past him into the kitchen. "I'm getting chills at how much you sound like your aunt. If you make your voice an octave higher, when you say 'honestly', yeah, exactly like Effie."

Emmanuel ignored his jibe. He began taking out a jar of what looked like strawberry jam, a loaf of bread and two plates.

"Breakfast," he said.

Haymitch nodded as he moved through the kitchen opening the cupboards and searching for alcohol to refill the silver flask in his pocket.

"Maybe you should be institutionalised, too," Emmanuel said, from where he was sitting on the stool, watching Haymitch critically.

"Yeah? Why's that?" Haymitch replied, craning his neck to get a better look at the top shelf.

"Alcoholism. Isn't that a cause for concern?" he sunk his teeth onto his bread, chewing it carefully. Only when he had swallowed his food did he continue talking. "I learn about it in school – the effects of alcohol on the liver. Cirrhosis."

"Smart ass," Haymitch muttered under his breath.

Haymitch smiled triumphantly when he found a bottle whiskey amongst the few bottles of wine and flavoured alcoholic drinks on the corner of the top shelf, hidden from view. He held it up as he turned around to show Emmanuel his loot.

"Oh, so that's where she kept it. Don't worry, I won't tell her that you let me in on the secret stash."

"Good choice. I won't tell her you skipped school today," Haymitch returned the favour as he sat down across Emmanuel. The boy grinned, clearly pleased with the deal. "But, you're going to school tomorrow and for the rest of the week until school break."

"Fine. But while I'm at school, you'll visit her. Every day," he countered.

Haymitch narrowed his eyes. "You drive a hard bargain. But – " he shrugged. "it's not like I have anything else to do here."

"I'm sure we can think of something to do together," said the teenager casually.

"Really? You want to spend your time with me - an old drunk?" Haymitch mocked.

He shrugged in response, giving a non-committal answer. Haymitch waited for Emmanuel to finish spreading the strawberry jam on two more pieces of bread before he nicked it right from the plate and stood up.

"Hey!"

"I'm going outside, to the living room to drink. Can't be drinking in your presence, now can I? Finish your breakfast," Haymitch instructed.

Haymitch couldn't imagine Effie being too pleased if he drank in front of her nephew. She never mentioned it the night before, which was surprising. He thought that would be the first thing she would warn him, the first thing on her mind but she must have been too preoccupied to remember.

"Don't get drunk," Emmanuel shouted after him.

XxX

"You should have moved your pawn," Haymitch commented, as he studied the chess board.

"Oh my god, Haymitch, don't tell her what to do," Emmanuel rebuked him.

"You're attacking her rather brutally. Look at her, she looks like a lost puppy," Haymitch gestured at Effie who was staring at her pieces intently.

Emmanuel laughed. When they came to visit her, Effie was in the day room, talking to an old man. Haymitch listened as the old man spoke to Effie. Apparently, President Snow had told him Panem shall rise to its former glory, the Games would be in place once again, and that it was his duty to ensure it happen.

"Delusions," Effie had whispered to Haymitch as she led him to a table in the day room where Emmanuel was waiting for them with a chess board all set up.

"I'm not a puppy," she frowned. "But I am lost. Do I move my knight?"

Emmanuel was adamant that she receive no help from Haymitch and their game ended soon enough when Effie made a wrong move.

"His father - my brother - used to bully me at chess all the time. I never quite understand the game," Effie told him, as she kept the pieces away, giving the board to Emmanuel who went to another table to start a new game with a middle-age man.

"He seemed to have your gift for socialisation," Haymitch commented.

Effie nodded.

"You two seem to get along pretty well," she noted. "Everything alright yesterday? Emmanuel showed you the guest bedroom?"

"Yeah, yeah he did."

He didn't give you any trouble, did he?" Effie gnawed her bottom lip worriedly.

"Nah, everything's fine. Don't worry about him. You look like you haven't slept."

"Oh, I manage to sleep for a couple of hours but the nightmares…" she trailed off.

"What about those sleeping pills?"

"I'm trying not to rely on them too much. Anyway, they're saying that talking about the nightmares could help, so we'll see how the therapy goes."

Haymitch drummed his fingers on the table as he watched the other patients in the room, especially a young woman who had walked around the room thrice, arranging all the empty chairs at a certain angle. To Haymitch those chairs looked perfectly aligned but each time the woman passed by, she would stop and re-arrange them all again.

"I'm glad to see you," Effie said out of the blue.

"Not the very best circumstances for a reunion, I must say."

"You're right, it's not. But I'm glad all the same."

The conversation frizzled out. Haymitch waited for her to bring up the elephant in the room – the reason why he left her at the Capitol the night the arena exploded – but she didn't. He sighed in relief and quickly latched on to a safe topic.

"Peeta and Katniss said hello. I spoke to them on the phone just before we left the house earlier."

Effie's face broke into a wide grin. They spoke of District Twelve and its post-war progress. They spoke of Katniss and Peeta, and of Haymitch's suspicion that they might be getting married soon. Effie squealed in delight at the news and she talked about visiting them once she was released.

Haymitch thought it was a good sign, listening to her talk about what she would do once the hospital released her. It meant that she was fighting to get better. _And it means I could go home._

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**Oh I made up that autobiography. I'm not sure if there's one on him.**

**And in Chapter 4, we'll see a little confrontation between Haymitch & Effie. See you!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"This is my school," Emmanuel pointed out as they walked past a three story building on their way home from the hospital.

"Hmmm," Haymitch nodded. "Hold on – you don't expect me to send you to school, right?"

Emmanuel rolled his eyes. "No. I'm just informing you so that you at least know where my school is."

"Good," he breathed out in relief.

Once they reached Effie's apartment, Emmanuel disappeared into his room and soon enough, Haymitch began to hear music coming from it. He walked past it, in the guise of going to the kitchen in search of food and saw Emmanuel sitting on his bed strumming on an acoustic guitar.

Satisfied that the teenager wasn't up to any mischief, he retreated back to his room. He grew bored increasingly quick at Effie's house. Back in District Twelve, he would have gotten drunk until he passed out but given the circumstances, with a teenager under his care, that would be terribly unwise. Instead, he opted to lie in bed and waited for sleep to claim him.

The hands on the clock tick, the lights from the vehicles out on the street flashed on the walls of his room and still, Haymitch was wide awake. He had no idea how long he had been lying there waiting to fall asleep. He grumbled under his breath, pushing himself off the bed. The frustrated man forced into semi-sobriety was ready to resort himself into watching whatever late night program was on. Surely, such mind-numbing activity would put him to sleep faster than if he were to count sheep.

The house was quiet; there were no music playing, no one strumming on a musical instrument which led Haymitch to conclude that Emmanuel had gone to sleep. He was wrong. When he entered the living room, Emmanuel was sitting cross legged on the sofa, his figure illuminated by the lights from the television screen.

"What are you watching?!" Haymitch demanded. Haymitch's eyes were glued to the characters on the screen locked in an intimate embrace. The volume had been turned down low so Haymitch had no idea what was being said, but the female character was leading the man into her room.

"Uhh – it's a late night soap opera," Emmanuel said, biting his lower lip. He glanced at the clock mounted on the wall and added sheepishly, "I never get to watch television this late if Effie is around."

"And I'm sure she's got a good reason," Haymitch mentioned, dropping in to seat at the empty space beside Emmanuel. "Isn't there an age limit on certain TV programmes?"

"Is there?"

The question sounded far too innocent for Haymitch to really believe Emmanuel's claim of ignorance.

"Nice try. Television programmes are broadcast in the districts, you know. I'm not completely oblivious to the fact that age limit increases the later into the night the shows aired."

"Oh," Emmanuel replied, guiltily. "Don't really know what it's like in the districts."

Haymitch sighed. With the war won, and Panem looking to integrate its citizens to promote a deeper sense of unity, he really hope that Emmanuel and those in his generations all across Panem would have the chance to get to know life beyond the borders of their home. Haymitch was certain that given time, and with the abolition of the law preventing citizens from travelling to another districts, Emmanuel would be able to learn and understand the kind of lifestyle outside the Capitol.

"Go to sleep, kid. School tomorrow and if you miss it, the deal is off," he reminded the boy.

XxX

When he woke up the next day, the house was empty. Emmanuel had left for school. At least Haymitch hoped that he really had left for school instead of gallivanting around somewhere. Emmanuel was a good kid that much he could tell, but he was still a teenager. Being a teenager once, Haymitch understood too well the refusal to conform to authority and he had gotten into all sorts of trouble, he gave his mother a headache.

Haymitch made himself a cup of coffee heavily laced with alcohol, which he hoped would last for the entire day and left for the hospital. He decided to walk to the hospital which was actually less than half an hour away from Effie's house.

He took in his surroundings and didn't quite understand what to make of the Capitol. There were all sorts of people – the exuberant colourful people he was used to seeing and the normal plain looking citizens that could only hail from the districts. He saw a pair of young lovers – a capitol boy and a district girl – walking passed him hand in hand. Before the Rebellion, it was considered a crime for anyone from the Capitol to be in a romantic relationship with someone outside their home. It was said that such relationship would dilute the nobility of their status.

Haymitch walked passed a place that had been cordoned off to the public. A spark of recognition ignited in his mind. There used to be a fountain there and as he peered to take a better look, he saw half of the fountain's structure had collapsed. It was the Fountain of Wealth and Haymitch remembered Effie asking him to throw a coin, to make a wish. He had indulged her to shut her up.

"So I'm supposed to wish for wealth?" he asked incredulously.

Effie had laughed, "That's the idea but you can wish for whatever you want."

"No more Games," he said, throwing the coin in.

Effie had panicked and glanced around at the two Peacekeepers doing their rounds at that time. She smacked his chest with her purse, forcing him to recoil from the pain. "Don't say such things, Haymitch! Not in public!"

She had been furious and the fire in her eyes had blazed through the night in annoyance and fear. He had managed to ruin the night for her which had not really gave him pause. In retrospect, he should have realised that Effie knew more than what she let on, that she understood the trouble one could get in with a few wrongly uttered words.

Everyone had their prejudices and to Haymitch, Effie was just another product of Capitol manipulation and yet, years later, here he was trying to help her.

XxX

"Haymitch!"

He turned around at the familiar voice and waited for Effie to approach him. The edges of her dress whipped around her as she walked briskly towards him. He thought she would be at the day room engaged in some other board games which was where he was headed but apparently, she was out at the Courtyard today, a daisy tucked behind her ear.

"Are you alone?" she asked as she craned her neck, clearly looking for Emmanuel.

"Yeah. Emmanuel's at school," Haymitch told her.

"Wha – Oh!" Effie gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh dear, I forgot all about school what with him disappearing and then… Oh no! What kind of person am I? He had breakfast before he left? He packed his books? He wore the appropriate school clothes?" she fired the questions rapidly at him.

"Effie, Effie, calm down!" Haymitch shook her shoulders. "You're telling me you monitor every aspect of his school life? Wait, of course you do. You're Effie."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she exclaimed indignantly.

"Your nephew is fourteen, Effie. You need to loosen the reins a little. Let him be independent, eh?"

"I'm just trying to be there for him, make sure his life is as normal as possible," she frowned.

"Effie, you're in a psychiatric facility," he pointed out the obvious. When Effie looked at him blankly, Haymitch began to tick his fingers as he listed it out for her. "That boy took the train on his own, hauled me from my home in Twelve, is at the moment staying with a complete stranger," he pointed to himself. "And he is going to be spending his time after school visiting you. That's already not normal, Effie and you should give him space. He had clearly demonstrated to you his ability to be independent. You're fighting a losing battle, sweetheart."

Effie gasped in horror and then her eyes flashed in anger. She stepped closer to Haymitch and hissed through her teeth.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better about myself, Haymitch Abernathy? Or are you trying to make my situation worse?"

Haymitch smirked. "I'm trying to find that fiery, irritating spark that I know you have and kindle it. This Effie that is constantly worrying and anxious and afraid, oh, and absent-minded - it's not really you. I know you're always worrying and anxious but at least you had the determination to gain back control and rescheduled your entire plan. Fight it, Eff. Get better."

He walked off and heard her footsteps running after him.

"You're a bastard! You can't just expect me to get over it! That's not how it works! I'm receiving treatment, a little support would -"

Haymitch whirled around. "I'm not asking you to get over it. I'm asking you to believe in yourself. There's a life out there and you're wasting it in this place," he gestured at their surroundings. "Control, Effie. Instead of trying to control Emmanuel's life, control yours!"

"That's rich coming from an alcoholic," she mumbled.

Effie looked up in surprise when Haymitch began to chuckle in amusement. "I expected that comeback. I knew you were going to bring alcohol into the picture. So predictable."

Unlike Effie's response, their relationship was anything but predictable. If they were at each other's throat moments ago, with Haymitch goading her in the hopes of trying to spur her recovery, they were now walking side by side. Effie was questioning Haymitch about the things Emmanuel and him did yesterday, and how they were getting along; her irritation with Haymitch temporarily forgotten.

XxX

Haymitch waited across the street from Emmanuel's school. His arms folded; his eyes squinting against the fierce glare of the afternoon sun. When Emmanuel saw him, his face scrunched in bewilderment.

"I thought we had a deal," he said as he came to a stop in front of Haymitch. "You're supposed to be with Effie while I'm at school."

"I was with her. She's in her therapy session now. Do you expect me to sit in?" Haymitch asked derisively. "So, I thought I'll swing by and see if you're really in school like you said you are. Had to make sure you kept your end of the deal."

"You've got trust issues," Emmanuel shook his head.

"Nah, I've got a little something called integrity. I hold up my end, I expect you to do the same."

"I am holding up my end, okay?" he waved his hand in annoyance. "How is she?"

"Same as yesterday - talking, walking, functioning."

"Can't you answer a question properly?" Emmanuel asked, irritated.

"Can you ask me a question that I could actually answer?" he retorted.

Emmanuel huffed and stomped off, adjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm right," Haymitch said out loud, easily catching up with him. "You get wound up pretty easily, just like your aunt."

Emmanuel sighed impatiently. "Can we go?"

"Easy there, grasshopper," Haymitch patted his shoulder. "Something to eat first, I think."

"Sandwiches!" Emmanuel exclaimed, running across the street into a small building. By the time Haymitch crossed the street and entered the café, Emmanuel was already in line, fishing inside his pocket for some cash.

He came over to the table by the window where Haymitch was sitting waiting for him. The teenager dropped a brown paper bag in front of Haymitch.

"Why is your hair purple?" Haymitch asked curiously, finally noticing his hair for the first time that day. "It was black yesterday."

"Oh, I sprayed it with hair dye this morning," he answered. "Effie wouldn't let me get highlights and wigs are not the fashion nowadays, so hair spray. Besides hair sprays are temporary, I could change the colour every few days."

Haymitch blinked and stared at the boy. "Wha – I have nothing to say."

"Hmmm, good. Whatever you wanted to say will probably be sarcastic," Emmanuel said, sipping his drink. "My real hair's black, in case you're so curious."

"I wasn't," Haymitch said hurriedly but in truth, he was about to ask if black was Emmanuel's natural hair colour.

"Our lunch; now let's go," Emmanuel urged, holding up the brown paper bag.

"Hold on, hold on," Haymitch grabbed onto his arm. "Aren't we gonna sit down and have a proper lunch?"

"I bought sandwiches, Haymitch. We can eat as we go, come on."

"Unbelievable," the older man grumbled under his breath as he followed Emmanuel out.

XxX

Effie was in her room, sleeping when they reached. She woke up the moment they entered her room, her senses attuned to even the slightest of sound. Haymitch noticed the way she scanned her room for phantom intruders, her eyes wide and pupils dilated in anticipation of a danger that only existed in her mind. When she saw them, however, she began to relax slowly. Haymitch looked over to see if Emmanuel noticed but he seemed oblivious to it.

"From school?" she asked her nephew.

"Yep," he plopped down onto the empty chair.

"How was the session?" Haymitch asked, crossing his arm as he sat on the window ledge.

Effie shrugged.

"We talked … about my imprisonment. Isn't this your last week of the school semester?" Effie asked, neatly changing the subject.

"Yeah."

For a teenager, Haymitch noticed how talkative and enthusiastic Emmanuel was. He talked to Effie like she was his best friend. He told her about his day in school, about how the teacher from District Three who taught him computer skills went on maternity leave recently and the upcoming school trip after the break which he was dreading to go.

"Why not?" Effie asked curiously.

"Agriculture's boring and if I join the class to District Eleven, I wouldn't be here with you," he complained.

"I'm pretty sure she would be discharged by then, grasshopper," Haymitch pointed out.

"Grasshopper?" Effie's brows wrinkled in confusion at the nickname Haymitch had unconsciously christened Emmanuel with.

"There's a character from a show who is an orphan. His mentor called him 'grasshopper'," Emmanuel explained.

"Not bad," Haymitch said, impressed that he caught the reference. Haymitch wasn't one to spend his time idly watching television shows unless it was a mandatory Capitol viewing but his girl had told him about that particular show a lifetime ago.

Haymitch was starting to like this kid. He frowned at the unexpected realisation, unsure if it was a good thing.

* * *

**I hope this chapter's okay! I had some slight misgiving so I've proof-read this so many times, my eyes are starting to hurt and, this chapter is slightly wordier! The 'grasshopper' reference is from Kung Fu. **

**In Chapter 5, Haymitch & Emmanuel has a surprise guest. Please review, thank you! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Someone's at the door!" Haymitch shouted from the bathroom. Temporarily forgetting that his hair was lathered with shampoo, he opened his eyes and cursed loudly as the suds fell into his eyes.

"Don't curse," Emmanuel said as he skidded to a stop in front of the closed bathroom door. "What'd you say?"

"Get the door!" he yelled, furiously washing his eyes with water.

He heard the boy took off, dashing past the hallway to the front door. Haymitch grabbed the clean towel and began to dry himself. He wasn't particularly concerned about who was at the door. It was probably someone looking to boost the sales of a newly opened shop by handing out fliers or a sales person going from door to door trying to sell their goods. It wouldn't be the first time it happened. They had one the day before and two more the first night Haymitch was at the Capitol. Emmanuel seemed to have gained some sort of expertise in getting rid of them without having to part with his school money which Effie had entrusted to Haymitch to disburse as he saw fit.

Emmanuel returned soon enough, pounding on the bathroom door desperately.

"Haymitch! Haymitch, open up! It's the family services!"

"What?!" he yanked the door open and poked his head out, hoping that he had heard wrongly. Emmanuel pushed his hair back, away from his eyes, gripping the door frame with his other hand.

"They're outside!" he gulped nervously.

"Did you let them in?" Haymitch asked, hurriedly wrapping the towel around his waist.

"No. Should I?"

Emmanuel glanced towards the door and back at Haymitch.

"You let them wait outside like that, they're gonna think something's wrong. Let them in, distract them while I get dress and make this place look less like a disaster hit zone."

Haymitch disappeared into his room, throwing the pillows that had somehow ended on the floor back onto the bed. He was putting on his shirt when he accidentally kicked an empty bottle of whiskey lying on the floor. Haymitch managed to track another empty bottle hidden beneath a soiled shirt.

_They can't see that._ He kicked the bottles under his bed and watched it roll away from view as he buttoned up his shirt, satisfied that nobody will notice the bottles.

"Haymitch's in his room. We just got home from the hospital, you see. Excuse the mess, sorry. We haven't had time to clean up."

Haymitch heard Emmanuel's voice talking from the living room, and when he peered out to see how Emmanuel was doing, he saw the teenager hastily gathering an empty ice cream tub which he had finished just minutes before the family services came knocking.

"Ice cream before dinner, so awesome!" he had said gleefully, licking his spoon clean. "Don't tell Effie."

Haymitch had grunted, his feet stretched out and propped on the coffee table as he devoured a packet of Lays he found in the kitchen earlier. The same yellow empty packet was currently lying on the coffee table. He saw Emmanuel picked it up, crushed it in his hand before stuffing the packet into the ice cream tub to be thrown away.

He was about to turn away when Emmanuel caught his eyes. The boy jerked his head towards the kitchen urgently. The two officers were conversing between themselves as they surveyed the living room. Emmanuel mouthed something which Haymitch didn't quite understand, jabbing his fingers in the general vicinity of the kitchen. One of the officers turned towards Emmanuel, who pulled his hand back quickly and ran them through his hair. He smiled charmingly at the officer.

Puzzled, Haymitch hurried towards the kitchen, his mind racing trying to figure out what Emmanuel was warning him about. Haymitch swiped the dirty plates lying on the kitchen counter and dumped them on the sink; there were wrappers of take-away food which they had not clear. He threw that into the bin which was choked full with rubbish. Haymitch sighed. None of them had remembered to clear the rubbish.

The distinct voices of Emmanuel and the female officer became clearer as they neared the kitchen. Haymitch managed to slam the cabinet door where Effie stashed her wine shut just in the nick of time as they entered the kitchen.

"Ah, Mr. Abernathy, I presumed?" the female officer asked

He whirled around and shook the proffered hand.

"Please to meet you," Haymitch greeted.

_Shouldn't be too difficult – just like talking to sponsors,_ he tried to convince himself.

"I'm Maria. We're just dropping by to check in, see how things are. We know that Emmanuel's legal guardian, Effie Trinket is currently receiving treatment at the hospital. Any news on when she would be released?"

"Ahh, nothing yet so far. She's recovering, making progress according to the doctors so, she shouldn't be there for long," he said, glancing at Emmanuel who nodded in agreement.

"How are the two of you getting along?" Maria questioned them.

"We're splendid," Emmanuel replied. The other officer, who had not spoken a word since their arrival, jotted Emmanuel's response down. "Haymitch is really nice. He's taking good care of me."

Haymitch spluttered. Nobody has ever described him in such a positive manner. In all honesty, he thought the boy was just laying it out too thick. Nobody's going to buy that, especially if they had seen Haymitch from all the coverage he received during the Games and knew how sullen he could be.

Still, in order not to contradict Emmanuel. Haymitch backed his words. "Yeah, we're good. We're getting along."

"Oh?" Maria asked.

"He's a real easy kid to handle. No trouble at all," Haymitch added.

"That's good to hear," Maria smiled. "No trouble academic wise?"

"None whatsoever. He's been going to school, if that's what you're asking?"

"Marvelous," the woman exclaimed. "Just one thing, though. Something we noticed outside. I know it must be difficult not having a woman around, not having your aunt around -"

Emmanuel tilted his head, trying to figure out where it was going. Haymitch raised an eyebrow and propped a hand on his hip as he waited for Maria to get to the point.

"- I saw ice cream tub and junk food wrappers at the living room. So, of course, I'm just wondering, what about meals? You're providing him with proper meals instead of just surviving on potato chips and chocolate bars, I hope?"

They looked at each other. Emmanuel opened his mouth to speak but Haymitch jumped in, cutting him off before he could get them both in trouble.

"Okay, I'm going to be honest. I'm not going to undermine your job by lying to you," Haymitch sauntered over to Maria and stood close to her. "I can't cook, sweetheart."

Emmanuel frowned in confusion when he saw the effect Maria was exhibiting being in such close proximity to Haymitch. Her face was flushed and she seemed flustered. If he didn't know better, he swore the woman was blushing. He looked at Haymitch questioningly and saw a man who knew what he was doing. At least he hoped Haymitch knew what he was doing.

"We eat out, you know. There's a café nearby," he jerked his thumb out of the window. "We stop by sometimes. Emmanuel here is quite fond of their … What's it called, grasshopper?"

"Roast beef sandwich," Emmanuel answered.

"Roast beef, yes. Three meals a day – look at him, getting fatter already. Not like kids from our districts before, eh?" Haymitch rested his palm on the kitchen counter, leaning forward slightly and smiled at Maria.

"Not at all," she replied, her eyes fixed on Haymitch. "You knew I was from the district?"

"I could tell," he shrugged. "The features - very distinctive. The accent – very unique. District Five, right?"

Maria looked flattered and averted her gaze. She shifted on her feet, and straightened her skirt, trying to get the situation under control. Haymitch's demeanour began to relax as he leaned his body weight on the elbow propped against the kitchen counter, his eyes boring into hers. He gave her a smug grin when he saw that it was succeeding. Emmanuel rolled his eyes.

"So, what we're having for dinner tonight?" Haymitch asked, clapping his hand together in mock enthusiasm.

"Pizza!" he answered in a heart beat, the first thing that came to mind. Haymitch faltered slightly, a frown gracing his features before he collected himself and gestured good-naturedly towards Emmanuel.

"See, he's got his meals all planned out. Must have learnt it from Effie, she's got everything scheduled and ready to go," he said.

Haymitch answered a few more questions with relative ease. He was caught off guard when they asked his plans for Emmanuel during the school break and stared blankly at the officer until Emmanuel saved his skin.

"We're going visiting. Uh – Peeta and Katniss in District Twelve," Emmanuel nodded. Haymitch threw him a look, a warning. "And umm, Haymitch said he was going to show me the Districts. He said it's time for cross-cultural learning or something like that now that the war is over."

"Of course! What a splendid idea! You should know how the districts are. It would promote tolerance and we can't have a repeat of the Games, can we?"

"Absolutely," Emmanuel replied, latching on to the Maria's enthusiasm. "Hopefully, Effie would have been discharged by then," he added, looking dejected.

Haymitch was impressed at the play for sympathy and he was even more surprised that it actually seemed to work.

"Well, I sincerely do hope she could join you. The fresh air would be good for her. Well, you boys enjoy yourself at District Twelve and since everything seems to be in good order, we'll take our leave," Maria said, shaking both their hands as Haymitch escorted her out.

"Cross-cultural learning?" Haymitch confronted him, as he locked the front door.

"What? It worked!"

"Cross-cultural learning," Haymitch muttered to himself. "You better hope she won't drop by District Twelve during your break only to find out that we're not there! That was real smart, kid; very smart."

"I tried my best. And this is your flask," he tossed it at him. "It was in the kitchen, they could have seen it, if it wasn't for me. So I don't think you should be angry with me for the District Twelve thing."

_Ah, so that's what he was trying to warn me about._

"What were you even doing flirting with her!?" Emmanuel asked when Haymitch ignored him, stretching out across the sofa.

"Listen, I'm gonna teach you something that could be useful later in life - when you sense that you're about to get in trouble with the ladies, charm them, flirt with them. Your aunt's big on the charming policies too. _Always charm the sponsors, Haymitch,"_ he imitated.

Emmanuel gave him a sceptical look, unsure if Haymitch was giving him the advise in jest. He was very certain Effie meant it in a different manner. He could not imagine his aunt actively telling anyone to flirt in order to get their way.

"What?" Emmanuel shook his head. "Whatever. Can we have pizza now?"

"What the hell is this pizza?" Haymitch asked, annoyed and curious at the same time.

Haymitch never had pizzas before; it wasn't a staple diet back in District Twelve leading him to conclude that it must be a Capitol gourmet. Then again, all the times that he went and endured dining with those Capitol sponsors at Effie's behest, he never once came across pizza.

XxX

Haymitch was sitting slouched against the sofa, a glass of whiskey in his hand when the phone rang, echoing loudly in the quiet apartment. He grunted at the effort it took to push himself off his comfortable spot to answer the phone.

Emmanuel stirred on the sofa where he had fallen asleep.

Stepping over an empty can of soda drink that Emmanuel had conveniently place on the floor, Haymitch removed the violin lying on the boy's stomach as he crossed the room. Haymitch had found himself lulled by the melodious tune Emmanuel was playing on his precious violin, hovering on the edge of unconsciousness as he fought to stay awake.

"It's a Stradivarius. My father bought it for me for my birthday. A year before he died," Emmanuel gave him the back story when he first brought his violin out of his room to play. "I had it with me on the day the rebels attacked which is why… it's not destroyed like the rest of my house."

"Where were you when the rebels attacked?", Haymitch asked, finishing the last slice of pizza. He found himself quite taken by the taste of it - the unique blend of mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, mushrooms and pepperoni complimenting each other perfectly – and had finished half the box before he could stop himself. If Emmanuel noticed, he chose not to comment on it, finishing his share in a matter of minutes.

"Music class which is at the other side of the Capitol. Away from the City Circle," he replied, not looking at Haymitch who could see the way his muscles tensed as he spoke of that day.

The phone continued ringing as Haymitch hurried to answer it.

"I'm coming," he grunted to himself. "Yeah, hello?"

"Haymitch, it's me, Effie."

He glanced at the clock – 10.30 pm.

"Hey, sweetheart. Isn't it lights out at the hospital? Shouldn't you be asleep?" Haymitch inquired, resting the phone on his shoulder as he fitted the violin and its bow back in Emmanuel's black case.

"I had to find out before I went to bed. I would have called earlier before lights out but … Were they there? Did Maria drop by to visit?"

"Yeah, left a few hours ago," Haymitch answered, curious to know if Effie had been told in advance about their visit before they visited.

Haymitch heard her inhaled sharply.

"Oh no! Tell me everything, is everything okay? Did they say anything at all? Don't keep me in suspense!" she asked, alarmed. Her breathing began to quicken as Effie tried to get more air into her lungs.

"Nothing, they seem satisfied with what they saw. Didn't say anything that – are you having a panic attack?" Haymitch stopped talking, slightly troubled at the sound of her breathing deeply and in short bursts.

"I - I think so. What... what else? Was Emmanuel -"

"Deep breath, Eff. Calm down, everything's okay. We did alright, everything's fine. You're not losing him and he's not losing you, stop thinking about the worst possible scenario," he directed. He had worked with her for years and he knew full well how her mind would always carve out different situations just so she could be prepared.

Haymitch waited for her to get her breathing under control and slowly, after minutes of silence, her breathing evened out.

"You weren't drunk, were you?" she asked fearfully.

Haymitch made a displeased noise at the back of his throat. "Effie, I have a teenager that you've entrusted to me to look after. Please, I do have a sense of responsibility not to get too drunk during the day."

"If I had known earlier, I would have warned you. I only knew because Maria called after dinner to ask after my health, how long before I would be allowed to go home and," Effie paused. "the nature of my relationship with you."

Haymitch choked and descended into a coughing fit. He hoped the question was asked purely for professional reasons and not because he had as Emmanuel accused him, flirted with that woman earlier.

"And what did you tell her?"

"That we worked together and you've been there for me all this time. She remembered the Games, so it wasn't too difficult. She just needed to verify it, that's all."

"Oh good," he said relieved, not bothering to explain any further.

"Thank you, Haymitch," she thanked him sincerely. "Really, I can't thank you enough. I don't know how to repay you for helping us out."

He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. People generally gave him a wide berth, and seldom sought his help. It was not surprising that he doesn't really know how to react to Effie profusely thanking him. Besides, he was usually mostly drunk when he interacted with Effie and he doubted Effie had much cause to thank him when his drunken behaviour meant trouble for them both most of the time.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "I'm sure you'll think of something."

Remembering what Effie had asked of him, Haymitch told her everything that happened with the family services, they talked late into the night without any of them even realising.

"He said what?"

"Yeah, he said we're off to Twelve during the break," Haymitch repeated. "Now, I need you to tell me if there's going to be another surprise visit like today, the likelihood of them appearing at Twelve."

"I don't know, Haymitch," Effie answered truthfully. "It's called a surprise visit for a reason. They do this from time to time, for the child's benefit. They do it more with the foster parents than people like me, the relatives but all the same, they'll visit now and again."

"Dammit," Haymitch cursed under his breath. "Then we might have a problem on our hand."

* * *

**I hope this was satisfactory! :/ Reviews?**

**Haymitch will find himself in a sticky situation with Effie and Emmanuel will incur Haymitch's wrath all in Chapter 6. Await the drama!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"What do we do?" Effie asked, as Haymitch walked her down the corridor for her session with her psychiatrist.

He shrugged. "We could lie; tell Maria that we had a change of plan and bringing Emmanuel to District Twelve was not part of it."

Effie chewed her bottom lip and turned to face him, a hand on the door knob. "That could work. But I just don't feel good lying to her. She's helped me a lot with the paperwork - taking over custody of my nephew."

"I could bring him over to Twelve," he suggested after a moment of deliberation. "Once they visited, I'll take the kid back to the Capitol. _If_ they do visit, of course. I'll give them two weeks."

He didn't like the idea one bit but he felt himself being backed into a corner with Effie asking for his help and trying not to get the Trinkets into any more trouble with the family services than they already are.

"There could be legal complications, taking him away from his legal –"

The door opened and a nurse walked out. "Oh, Effie, you could go in. Mr Abel is waiting for you."

"Will you be here after my session?" Effie asked.

"I'll wait at the lobby," he assured her.

XxX

Haymitch flipped through the brochure he found at the hospital lobby, trying to kill time while he waited for Effie. A young nurse nodded at him in greeting as she hurried down the corridor. Haymitch was a familiar face now and the nurses has grown quite accustomed to seeing him around. That was his life at the moment – spending it at the hospital with Effie and back at her apartment with Emmanuel.

"Haymitch?"

He looked up to see Effie standing in front of him, dabbing her eyes with a wad of tissues.

"You alright?"

"Yes, just a little bit emotional is all," she laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah I can see that. What were you talking about with him inside?" Haymitch asked curiously. He walked next to her as they headed out towards the Courtyard.

"The day you rescued me," she answered, her hand curling around a flower stem. Effie plucked the flower and brought it up to her nose, inhaling the sweet floral scent of the white magnolia. When she found that she quite liked the smell, Effie gathered a few more from the garden.

Haymitch faltered slightly. They had never talked about the day that he rescued her, or anything related to the Rebellion. She was semi-conscious when Haymitch dragged her bleeding and broken out of her jail cell and he doubted that she remembered much of that day. His heart pounded in his chest as he waited for her to expound on the subject.

The silence stretched between them. Effie continued walking leisurely; handing one of the flowers in her hand to a young woman. She spotted an empty bench and settled down on it, looking at Haymitch waiting to see if he would join her. He followed and sat next to her.

Haymitch began to relax when Effie said nothing more about her rescue. She took off her shoes and folded her legs on the bench, resting her weight slightly against Haymitch. He realised that he didn't mind it at all.

"Why did you leave me, Haymitch?" the question came without any preamble.

"I – " he paused, startled. "I thought it was safer for you."

Effie looked at him quizzically.

"Safer if you stayed in the Capitol than if I were to take you with me to District Thirteen," he clarified.

"Why?" her voice was soft, a mere whisper.

"Your citizenship would have protected you," he said. "At least, I thought it would."

"That was some kind of protection," she commented wryly.

He turned to face her, resting his arm on the back of the bench. "It did cross my mind to take you with us to Thirteen. I thought of it, Effie. But I wasn't sure – you were never really part of the Rebellion, like Plutarch and Fulvia was. If I had taken you to Thirteen, you would be marked a traitor, you understand? Your life would be in jeopardy. I had to make a choice."

Effie gave him a side-long glance. "It wasn't your choice to make."

Haymitch hung his head. He noticed how the flowers shook in her hands.

"I would have helped you; I would do anything for Katniss and Peeta, you know that."

"I know. You did help. You may not believe me but those sponsor gifts during the Quell, I couldn't have done it without you. You gathered them and sent them my way. You helped, without even knowing."

Haymitch conveniently left out the fact that some of the sponsors were Plutarch's contacts. They were there in the event that the rebel mentors needed something that the rest of the sponsors were not willing to pay for.

Effie shook her head vehemently.

"Don't patronize me," her voice had an edge to it. "You think I'm clueless, that I'm this Capitol citizen you could manipulate because I know nothing of the real world."

"Alright I'm sorry and no, no, that's not what I think of you," he said hastily, slightly unprepared for the anger she was exuding. "I made a mistake, I admit. I was trying to protect you the only way I knew how."

"Why should I believe you?" her brows creased. "I'm just a pawn in your game. How would I know that you never meant to leave me behind? You're a strategist, Haymitch! Leaving me for Snow to collect was the perfect distraction; that while he focus his efforts on interrogating me, you had a little space to regroup and plan your war."

The stems crushed in her grip and she threw the flowers on the ground. Whether it was from frustration or anger, Haymitch couldn't really tell the difference. His eyes widened in surprise at the sudden aggression and stinging accusation.

"I never thought – not once did…" he took a deep shuddering breath as he tried to collect his thoughts. "Did you think I placed so little value on a human life, Effie? I watched tributes die; I replay their deaths over and over again in my head so often that my nights are filled with terror. I drink to forget their faces, to forget my failure. I lost everyone who had ever meant anything to me and, we may never get along well but I got used to you. Don't insult me by implying that I intentionally put you in the line of fire!" he answered crossly.

Effie flinched at the tone of his voice. She blinked slowly and crossed her arms, hugging herself. He noticed her movements, the way she held herself protectively as though she expected Haymitch to harm her. He gritted his teeth and tried hard to get his breathing under control.

"I was so angry…," she admitted softly. "I didn't understand what they wanted from me and I hated you for leaving me behind. I must have meant so little for you to easily turn your back on me. That's what they told me – that I meant nothing to you – and I believed them."

He swallowed painfully at how her voice cracked as she all but told him how disappointed she was with him. His eyes softened slightly.

"No matter how infinitesimally small it was at that time, you still meant something _to me," _he heard himself confessed. Haymitch covered her trembling hands with his. "We don't have to do this, Effie. Come on, we'll talk about this another time. Let's get you to your room."

"No," she said stubbornly, pulling her hand out of his grasp.

She clasped them together in a valiant attempt to stop the trembling, her breathing laboured. Effie sat up straighter – shoulders squared and her jaw clenched together.

"No," she repeated herself.

"Eff, don't be like this," he said, trying to appease her. His eyes shifted rapidly around the Courtyard to see if there was a nurse nearby just in case.

"I need to know, Haymitch! I deserve to know!" she raised her voice.

A young man turned to look at them before scuttling away in a hurry, mumbling something incoherent. Haymitch ignored him.

"No, you don't have to! What does it matter? It's over. You've survived and that's all there is," he argued.

Effie lifted her hand, hitting Haymitch on the chest, "Don't shut me out!"

"I'm not trying to shut you out," he responded, catching her hand in his before she could hit him again. "You're hysterical; you're having some sort of attack or something."

"I – I just need to know," she wheezed, breathing deeply.

"You're in no state - you're not okay! Look at yourself," he stood his ground and released her hand. "I'm getting a nurse. Stay here, don't move."

He made to stand up but Effie's hand curled around his wrist to force him back down. Her hand was clammy and even though Haymitch could easily break the feeble grip she had on him, he didn't. He sat, frowning at the woman in front of him.

"I took the blame for you, Haymitch Abernathy. Me! They tried to torture information out of me. The things they did to me –" she choked and the tears fell fast down her cheeks.

Haymitch panicked. He was hardly ever caught in such a situation and had no precedent with which to fall back on.

"The least you could do –" Haymitch strained to make out the words Effie was trying to say in between her gasping for breath, "is to give me –"

"Okay!" he said finally, holding her face in his hand as he forced her to look at him, to focus. "Okay, whatever you want to know, I'll tell you."

Her eyes and nose was red; her face wet with tears and sweat. She looked at him desperately.

"I'll tell you, okay?" he reiterated.

She nodded gratefully at him. He couldn't understand why she needed to know so badly. It was as though her life depended on it.

"But not now, Eff. This topic upsets you. You're not –"

She pulled away from him violently and jumped to her feet. Haymitch stared at her.

"I'm not what? Stop trying to make my choices for me. I am a fully grown woman I am capable of –"

Haymitch watched as a nurse approached Effie slowly from behind, the racket she was making had attracted their attention. She was sedated and Effie fell limp in the nurse's arms.

"Is that normal?" Haymitch asked once he managed to catch his breath.

"Patient with PTSD gets emotionally aroused easily. Some get irritated and there's the occasional outburst of anger. What happened back at the garden?" the nurse questioned as they wheeled Effie back to her room.

"She – Well, she started asking me questions. About the war. She got agitated and, you saw for yourself."

"Effie is a relatively calm and easy going patient. As far as I recalled, she only had one other episode when she flew into a rage. Even that was mild compared to other patients. We're helping her work through it - revisit her memories of the war."

"Wouldn't it be far easier to avoid the topic altogether?" Haymitch asked incredulously, pressing the elevator button. It seemed far logical to bury the past and move on, in his opinion.

"Avoidance will not help the healing process. She is healing. She is doing really well since the time she was admitted. If it was information she wanted, you should give it to her. It would help her to know everything, to work through her feelings. You should see Dr. Abel, he'll be able to tell you how best to break the information to Effie without stressing her out."

Haymitch didn't acknowledge whatever the nurse had told him but still, he filed the information in case he ever needed it. "How long will she be out?"

"Not long, this is a mild sedative. She should be awake in a few hours. I suggest you give her time to herself."

"Yeah, that's fine. I've got to check up on her nephew."

Haymitch brushed Effie's blonde hair back as he studied her. She looked peaceful, and young, and Haymitch almost wished for the uptight, prissy escort back - the one without the burden of war memories on her shoulder.

He closed the door behind him, opting to wait for Emmanuel's arrival at the lobby. He had no idea how to explain to the boy if he asked why Effie was out cold.

XxX

He barely had time to reconcile with what just happened before he found himself at Emmanuel's school about an hour later. Haymitch strode into the school compound glaring at anyone who crossed his path. He clenched and unclenched his fist trying to control the anger coursing through him.

Turning the corner towards the Principal's Office, he saw Emmanuel sitting on a chair, his legs swinging to the rhythm of the music blaring through his headphones. When he saw Haymitch, he hastily pulled the headphones off and stood up.

"I'll deal with you later," Haymitch said sharply. Emmanuel sunk back into his chair, staring at the floor.

Haymitch glanced around the room and saw a boy with a swollen black eye. The woman next to him who Haymitch assumed would be the boy's mother, glared at Haymitch. He arched an eyebrow in return which of course set to provoke the woman. She pursed her lips and pushed herself off the chair, a word already forming on her lips when Emmanuel's principal, a middle age woman called them in. Haymitch held the door open, bowing to the injured boy's mother.

"After you," he said mockingly, gesturing for her to enter the office.

"Are you gonna flirt with her to get us out of trouble?" Emmanuel asked out of the corner of his mouth.

"No. Because _I'm_ not in trouble."

"Mr. Abernathy, I learnt from Mr. Trinket that you're his guardian and that his aunt is at the moment unavailable," said the principal, Mrs. Baker.

"That's right. Is he in trouble?"

"He most definitely is. Why don't you tell him what you did, Mr. Trinket?"

"Ipunchedhimintheface," Emmanuel mumbled.

"What was that?", Haymitch asked.

"I punched him in the face," he repeated, glaring at the boy who was twice his size.

Haymitch turned to face Mrs. Baker and shrugged. "He must have a good reason. Do you?" he addressed the question to Emmanuel. He was staring defiantly at Benjamin Adams.

"He said my aunt was crazy and that she deserved what she got. Adams said she was a traitor. I shouldn't associate myself with rebels like you," Emmanuel never took his eyes off the boy. "So I punched him in the face and told him he deserve what he got."

Haymitch resisted the urge to laugh when Emmanuel delivered the last sentence of explanation. Instead, he turned to Benjamin Adams' mother.

"Did you teach your son that?"

"What I teach my son is none of your concern. I'm not afraid of you," she added the last bit unnecessarily.

"Well, you shouldn't be afraid of me. What do you think I'm going to do to you? Eradicate your kind? I'm not Snow. For me to do that, I would have to kill Emmanuel here and his aunt, and I'd rather not. I'm quite fond of him."

It took Haymitch's brain a few seconds to catch up with what he just said. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Emmanuel's head turned to look at him in surprise.

"Mrs. Baker, the way I see it, Emmanuel was only trying to protect his aunt's integrity and that is quite commendable, don't you think? Shouldn't that be a virtue that you emulate into the rest of the student body?"

"That may be so, Mr. Abernathy. However – "

"The manner in which he defended his aunt was of course, not exemplary. I understand that, make no mistake," Haymitch interrupted. "And he will be adequately punished for it, no doubt about it. Let me take care of it."

They negotiated the best way to deal with the situation. Haymitch tried hard to keep the Adams woman off his back.

"He's not the only one at fault here," Haymitch pointed out. "Lady, your son shouldn't be saying things he has no knowledge about."

She demanded a punishment to be meted out immediately while Haymitch insisted that the women in the room understand the rationale behind Emmanuel's action. After much debate and snide remarks, they came to a consensus. Emmanuel, to his credit, accepted his punishment gracefully. He nodded his understanding when the Principal told him to serve his detention for an hour after school each day till the semester break. Benjamin Adams grumbled under his breath but otherwise, he acknowledged his punishment without much trouble.

When the two boys were made to shake hands and apologise, Emmanuel smirked. "Nice eye," he muttered quietly but Haymitch who was standing next to him heard it.

XxX

"Why are we going that way? The hospital's this way," Emmanuel pointed out the obvious.

"We're going home."

"What? But why? Is this your way of punishing me?! By not allowing me to visit Effie?" he demanded.

Haymitch pinched the bridge of his nose. "Emmanuel, don't question me. I am not in the mood right now."

"I'm going to the hospital," he declared stubbornly.

"No, you're not. You're going home," Haymitch's voice had gone dangerously low. After all that happened in a space of a day, his patience had hit its limit and he had none left to spare. Haymitch slipped his hand inside his pocket, his fingers trailing the outline of his flask. He badly needed a drink.

Effie would be awake by now, he realised as he mentally calculated the time since he left the hospital. Haymitch wasn't sure if he could face her yet after the debacle they had in the garden. He wanted to be there when she woke up by which time Emmanuel would have been at the hospital with him. Haymitch thought it would be a little less tense and awkward if her nephew was there. He was pretty certain with Emmanuel in the room she would not bring the incident up.

It was a spineless plan but he needed time to gather his thoughts and explain it to her delicately given her propensity to fly off the handle at the mention of her abandonment. Haymitch wasn't known for being delicate and comforting which made the whole mess a lot worse. The incident had replayed itself in his head as he sat waiting at the hospital lobby. Effie was right; he did owe her an explanation. He vowed to tell her everything she wanted to know but he was wary of Effie's reaction.

He was lost in thought when the call came through the hospital. Someone from Emmanuel's school was on the phone asking him to come over, telling him the teenager was involved in a scuffle.

_Great, one after another,_ he thought as he slammed the phone down.

After the whole fiasco with Emmanuel, he was exhausted. He didn't have the energy to face Effie and spend another few hours at the hospital. He wasn't sure if it was in Effie's best interest to know what Emmanuel had done either.

"You can't tell me what I can or cannot do!" Emmanuel answered back, pulling him out of his thoughts. "You're not my father!"

Haymitch strode over to Emmanuel and looked down his nose at the boy who barely reached his shoulder.

"You're right. I'm not your father. I don't owe you anything. I'm not responsible for you. You know what? I'm doing you a favour, right now, kid. This whole arrangement is a favour! You better think things through before you make a mistake."

Haymitch stepped back knowing that he had put enough fear in the boy at that moment.

"But yes, I can't tell you what to do. So go ahead, do whatever you want. I think I'll take the next train home to District Twelve," he spat, turning on his heels and walking away from the stunned teenager.

He was furious but he knew Emmanuel was smart enough to understand that if he didn't get this act together, Haymitch would leave and he would be screwed. Haymitch counted to ten; counting the seconds it took for Emmanuel to come scrambling after him.

"Wait!" Emmanuel shouted. He reacted after a while and ran after Haymitch. "Wait, no, please! I'm sorry!"

_Fifteen - took him long enough._

"Haymitch, I'm sorry!"

Haymitch ignored him; determine to let the boy stew in panic for a little bit longer.

"You're my uncle," he blurted out breathlessly. "You're like an uncle I never had. This grouchy, sarcastic and temperamental man. That's who you are to me. The uncle I heard stories about since I was a kid from Aunt Effie but never had the chance to meet until recently. I feel like I've known you all my life thanks to her. Please, please don't leave. I'm sorry, I was rude."

Haymitch stopped dead in his track at the sidewalk.

* * *

**I've been excited to post this chapter for a while so I really hope you like it! I know I've been posting a chapter every few days but my exams are fast approaching so the next chapter will be slightly delayed. **

**In Chapter 7, we'll see how Haymitch deals with what Emmanuel just told him and Effie wakes up from the sedative**.

**Do review :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Exam ended yesterday so I'm back to regularly updating this fic! :)**  


* * *

**Chapter Seven**

The world seemed to have faded into the background as Emmanuel's panicked admission magnified and rang in his ears. _You're my uncle._

It sounded extremely odd when he mentally repeated it in his head. He had never found himself in such a capacity before. Haymitch knew his roles; a victor, a friend, a mentor, a rebel but not this. Not some patriarchal replacement figure that he was certain he was slowly becoming.

_But isn't that what you've been to Katniss since her Games?_

"Haymitch?" Emmanuel called out uncertainly.

Haymitch was acutely aware that the pair of them was attracting odd stares from random passers-by but they were the least of his concern. Haymitch turned around slowly, his mind still processing and churning the turn of events.

He tilted his head as he regarded the boy standing in front of him, rocking on the balls of his feet nervously.

"I'm sorry," Emmanuel repeated.

"I heard you," Haymitch sighed and jerked his head. "Come on, let's go."

"So, umm, you're not leaving?"

"I could," Haymitch answered casually, giving Emmanuel a side long glance. "If you step out of – "

"I won't! I promise, I won't," Emmanuel answered hurriedly.

They made their way back to Effie's apartment in silence with Emmanuel occasionally glancing at Haymitch warily. Haymitch knew his silence was making Emmanuel uneasy and the boy wouldn't be the one making small talk in fear of setting Haymitch off.

"So… She told you about me, huh?" Haymitch said, breaking the stillness between them.

He heard Emmanuel's sigh of relief. "Yeah, since I was young. She'd come over for dinner at every other week each time and right before she had to leave for the Reaping, and sometimes, she'd complain about you to Mum and Dad."

Haymitch arched an eyebrow. "Oh, do tell."

"Well, she said you're always drunk and you made no effort to help the tributes. She told us that … it's like you just gave up on everything. Mum and Dad always said to get a promotion, get a better district but after several years, when I was a bit older, she told me quietly that she can't just leave you alone. I don't know why she told me, maybe she just needed to let it out and I was kid, nobody was going to take me seriously if I repeated it."

He turned to look at Emmanuel, surprise at that bit of information.

"She said that?" he questioned the boy.

Emmanuel nodded. "She told me you're actually a good person with a – and I quote – 'sour disposition'. She said you could be funny when you're sarcastic and insulting everyone else but her, that you could be nice at times despite your rudeness."

"Right," Haymitch nodded. He never bothered to know what Effie thought of him. He assumed that her impression of him mirrored the rest of the Capitol - he was the inebriated mentor.

Reacting almost instinctively, Haymitch grabbed Emmanuel's upper arm and yanked him back off the sidewalk. The speeding car gave a long angry honk. Too engrossed in getting his story across, the boy had stepped off the kerb without looking for oncoming traffic.

"Oh," Emmanuel said, wide eyed. "Thanks. See, could be at nice at times."

"What else?" Haymitch inquired, his curiousity mounting by the minute.

"I don't remember all of them but she would tell me stories of what you did. Getting into fights when you're drunk, vomiting on her shoes, passing out at random places at the Penthouse, you know, those kinds of things."

"Your aunt needs to learn to keep her mouth shut," Haymitch grumbled.

"Well, she actually told me that as an example of behaviours I should avoid as an adult, the detrimental effect of consuming too much alcohol."

Haymitch gritted his teeth. "She set me as an example?"

Emmanuel laughed. "Yeah, but I thought you were rather interesting, in all honesty. So I don't think it really worked the way she intended to. Then… a few years back, the tune change, she told me stories about being rescued. She said someone was by her side at the hospital keeping vigil, she thought it might be you but she wasn't sure. Effie was under heavy medications at that time, I think?"

Haymitch kept on walking, neither confirming nor denying the story. He didn't know and it caught him by surprise to find out that Effie might have been aware of the fact that he had watched over her when he couldn't sleep at night while at District Thirteen. He had to make sure she would make it through the ordeal alive, that she wouldn't just go in her sleep.

When she regained full consciousness, and with it the ability to communicate, Haymitch had been immensely relieved. She had specifically prohibited him from visiting, something he was quick to jump on and accepted almost gratefully because he didn't know how to face her. That was the first clue he had that Effie Trinket was furious with him. Despite that, Haymitch kept tabs on her while she was still in the hospital. He gleaned news of her recovery from Plutarch or the nurses on duty.

"Oh, that you're grumpy," Emmanuel added, pulling him out of his thoughts. "How could I forget that? I think she likes you, you know? You're her friend whether you realise it or not."

That was not something Haymitch wanted to know. It just served to reinforce the fact that he failed her when he allowed her to be captured and then left her to fend for herself after she was released from the hospital in District Thirteen.

XxX

Haymitch went straight to his room once they reached, uncapped his flask and collapsed on the bed, drinking every last bit of alcohol in it.

At some point, he must have fallen asleep; taken a nap without even realising because when he opened his eyes and peered out of the bedroom window, the horizon was tinged orange as the sun began to set.

He rubbed his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he had taken nap. It must have been years ago before he was reaped, when his sleep wasn't haunted with faces of the dead. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he had not had anything to eat since morning.

As he made his way to the kitchen, he noticed the living room which was in a complete mess. Emmanuel may have cleaned it up in a hurry when Maria came over but it had quickly become a dumpster. Emmanuel's jacket was thrown over the back of a sofa, the pizza box from the day before was on the coffee table along with several mugs and empty cans of soda. Haymitch was used to living in such an environment but he knew Effie would not appreciate them turning her house into a pig sty.

He thought since Emmanuel was Effie's nephew, he would have inherited her obsessive need to organise everything but apparently, Haymitch was wrong. Emmanuel was as laid back as Haymitch was.

When he entered the kitchen, he saw Emmanuel by the stove, stirring something in a stainless steel pot. Haymitch pulled a chair and sat heavily on it, pouring himself a cup of cold coffee from that morning.

"You're cooking?" he asked dubiously, walking over to Emmanuel. He peered into the pot to see something gooey.

"Yep, mac and cheese," Emmanuel answered as he began to divide the dish into two plates. He sat across from Haymitch; arms folded in front of him on the table as he waited for Haymitch to pass judgment.

"Not bad," Haymitch said. "Never had this before."

Emmanuel smiled, taking a mouthful of his own food. "You never had a lot of things. What do you even eat?"

"Squirrel," he answered and laughed at the look on Emmanuel's face.

"How's Effie today?"

Haymitch swallowed and looked down at his plate, contemplating if he should tell Emmanuel the truth.

"She had to be sedated," Haymitch told him truthfully.

Emmanuel was not a child and far from stupid. If he was in the boy's position, Haymitch wouldn't appreciate being lied to especially about someone he cared about.

"What? Why?"

"She was agitated, breathless and she got angry."

"Why was she angry?" he pressed Haymitch further. "Did you say something that would make her angry?"

Haymitch shrugged. "I think she's been angry with me all these while."

"What do you mean?" Emmanuel asked, frowning in confusion. "Didn't you save her from prison?"

"Why was she even in prison in the first place, kid?"

Emmanuel stopped chewing, laying down his cutleries carefully on his plate. "She was captured by President Snow."

"Why?" Haymitch pushed him, forcing Emmanuel to think and evaluate.

Emmanuel gave Haymitch a look, not understanding the necessity of the multiple questioning. "She didn't make it out in time. The hovercraft you were in left before she could reach it. She was delayed, she said."

Haymitch inhaled sharply. "Is that what she told you?"

"Well, isn't that what happened?" Emmanuel countered.

"No," Haymitch shook his head. "That wasn't how it went down. What happened was… I left her. I left your aunt. I thought – Nobody knew if she was on our side, you have to understand that. She played no active role in the Rebellion other than her genuine concern for Peeta and Katniss."

"So you left her because she's not on your side?!" Emmanuel demanded, his voice tinged with the beginning of anger.

"No, I left her because taking her with us would seal her fate. Snow would mark her as a traitor which she wasn't. Her loyalty to the Capitol may have been wavering when she saw what Snow was capable of the moment he decided to throw victors back in the arena but she didn't make an outright stand against the Capitol. I thought she would be safe, Emmanuel. She was still a Capitol citizen. There was no guarantee that District Thirteen would have accepted her either. They did not take kindly to outsiders especially those from around here - Katniss' prep team were imprisoned."

"Oh my god," Emmanuel gasped, staring at his plate in shock. "Oh my god, you abandoned her."

"I did and I'm sorry," Haymitch told him sincerely.

Emmanuel kept quiet, his eyes staring uncomprehendingly at the plate of food before him. Haymitch watched him carefully. He had told the boy the truth and there was nothing else to say. Finally, with a deep breathe, Emmanuel looked up.

"Tell me one thing - at that point of time did you act out of her best interest? Not because she was a burden to you or anything? Not because she couldn't help you with your war?"

Haymitch blinked in surprise. He was not expecting such a question from a fourteen year old boy. He never expected Emmanuel to be able to think that abstractly.

"I did it to protect her. I thought it was for the best. If there had been another way, a way that would not result in her coming to any harm, I would have taken it."

After what seemed like an eternity, Emmanuel nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah."

"That's all? Just okay?" Haymitch asked unbelievingly.

"It's not me you have to apologise to, right? Did you explain all this to her?"

"I tried but she got hysterical."

"I can't say I'm surprised," Emmanuel told him. "Maybe you should try again. So why didn't we hear from you after the war?"

"I knew she was angry. It occurred to me that she may not want to have anything to do with me."

"Is that the truth?" Emmanuel raised an eyebrow.

"Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?"

The teenager shook his head. "I think you're the only person who ever bothered to tell me the truth. When my parents died, everyone kept saying that it would be okay, it'll get better. I didn't want to hear that, you know? I wanted my parents. They didn't even tell me they were dead until Effie came to claim me a few weeks later."

The immense relief Haymitch felt when he realised that Emmanuel did not think of him any less was immeasurable. He made Haymitch promised that he would be allowed to visit Effie after his school and detention the next day and then treated Haymitch as though he had not just been told that his only living relative was left behind during the Rebellion.

"Did you ever miss her after the war?" Emmanuel's voice pierced through the silence that had settled in. Haymitch looked up.

"Miss her?" he repeated. _Did I?_

"Yeah. I mean, I don't know, I miss her when she had to leave for a couple of weeks during the Games. She's always around and so cheerful, and she'll bring me out whenever she can because my parents were always too busy."

"I do, I supposed. In a strange sort of way; if you could actually miss someone who gets on your nerves half the time. I think it's the arguments we have that I miss. It's nice having someone to disagree with instead of …" Haymitch trailed off, unsure why he was even admitting such things to a mere boy.

"Instead of the lonely silence of your house?" Emmanuel asked, his lips twitched in amusement.

Haymitch inclined his head, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the statement.

"Effie said you're not much of a talker but I disagree," Emmanuel said, carrying their empty plates and dumping them in the kitchen sink. "I think I bring out the best in you. Or maybe you just enjoy talking to me."

Emmanuel winked. The boy was a tease and Haymitch couldn't help the way the corner of his lips curled upwards in a smile.

"Go and clean your room," Haymitch ordered instead. "And the living room while you're at it."

XxX

Effie's bed was unoccupied when he stepped into her room the next morning. Further interrogation of the nurse on duty told him that she had been scheduled for another private session after her outburst yesterday.

Haymitch sat in the empty chair and took out a book Emmanuel had borrowed from his school library about post-traumatic stress disorder. Minutes passed before finally, the door opened and Effie stepped in.

She did a double take when she saw Haymitch lounging on the chair by her bed.

"Hey, sweetheart," he greeted.

"Hello, Haymitch," her voice was soft and gentle as she sat perched at the edge of her bed, across from him. The anger that dominated her yesterday was gone.

Haymitch closed the book and put it face down on the night stand. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"You alright?"

Effie nodded. "I'm sorry for what happened yesterday, for screaming at you like… like I'm crazy or something."

"You're not crazy, Eff. And, it's alright, I deserve it."

"Let's just forget about it, Haymitch. Never speak of it again. What matters is now, right? I'm alive and well, and I have Emmanuel to think about."

Haymitch clenched his jaw. It was tempting to do as she said, cast it aside and never speak of it again. But it wouldn't be right.

"You're right, you know. You do deserve to know. I'll tell you one day when the topic of war doesn't put you too much on edge. How about that?"

"It sounds good," she smiled at him. Effie looked worn out and tired, she had dark circles under her eyes and her skin was pale. Still, he thought she was pretty, simple and delicate, and he liked her looking natural like this. His hand moved to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

Effie blushed. When Haymitch realised what he was doing, what he had been thinking and worse, that he had been staring at her, he hastily pulled his hand back clearing his throat uncomfortably.

"I was thinking, maybe a change of scenery would be good for you," Haymitch said, laying out his idea carefully to Effie. "You could go somewhere, someplace away from the Capitol, you know? Take a break, let your mind rest and I think the timing's perfect, too. Emmanuel's having his school break in two days," he pointed out.

Effie bit her inner cheek as she thought over what he said.

"Is this your way of washing your hands off us, so that you could return to Twelve?" she asked timidly.

"What? No – no, that's not what I meant at all," Haymitch assured her.

He noticed how Effie tended to be more suspicious ever since the war. The Effie he was used to was slightly more naïve - the world was her playground, safe in the belief that nothing could harm her. She had changed, they all had.

"I mean, just spend time with your nephew. I think the Capitol holds too much negative memories for you like it did for me."

She nodded her affirmation. Her eyes glazed over as a memory played itself in her head. "Did you know that there are prisons in the training centre? It's underground, some sort of bunker and prohibited to escorts and mentors. I only found out because…"

"I know, Effie. I got you out from that place. You remember?"

"Yes. I don't like passing by that area anymore." Effie blinked and the haze in her eyes dissipated. "We watched too many children die at the training centre, didn't we, Haymitch?"

His hand found hers and he held on to it, feeling the slight tremble in her hand. He remembered all the time her fingers crept up to curl around his hand as they sat together at the plush sofa in the Penthouse watching one of their tributes lose their life in the arena.

"Listen, Eff, about what I told you – "

"That I should leave the Capitol?"

"Leave? No, I mean take a break. Get away for a while and then you can come back."

"Okay," she nodded, warming up to the idea. "But where should I go?"

"You said you wanted to visit Katniss and Peeta, you could do that. You could go to Three and visit Plutarch, or Four to see Annie and her kid. See for yourself how Panem had developed, that kind of thing. I don't know, it's a free country now."

"I like the sound of that. I could bring Emmanuel with me, he would like it, too. See places he has never seen before."

"Yeah, that's the idea. But first, let's see if we can get you out of this place," Haymitch grinned, patting her knee and pushing his chair back as he stood up to talk to the appropriate person in charge.

* * *

**Please leave a review :)**

**In Chapter Eight, Haymitch & Effie encounter a slight problem.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Detention was a real bummer," Emmanuel said, announcing his presence. He stood in front of Haymitch at the hospital lobby waiting for the old man to acknowledge him.

"It wouldn't be detention if it was fun," Haymitch replied, finally looking up. He folded the newspaper in half and tossed it on the empty seat next to him. "You have ketchup on your shirt."

"I know. It's _him, _that son of a –"

Haymitch glared at him. He had sat through enough lectures from Effie whenever he cursed and swear to know that she would not accept such behaviour from her nephew.

"a… very scary woman…" Emmanuel switched abruptly. "He tripped me at the school's lunchroom while I was carrying a tray full of food."

"Adams?"

Emmanuel nodded, staring down at the huge red patch on the front of his shirt.

"Did you punch him again? Because if you do, I won't be able to keep this one from Effie."

"No," Emmanuel answered.

Haymitch had proposed that they not tell Effie the incident knowing that it would just make her upset. He didn't think Effie needed to know what people's opinion of her were and Emmanuel had agreed, grateful and relieved that he would not get into any more trouble. In an attempt to instil some sort of punishment, Haymitch had cut his allowance in half.

"But I stole his homework during detention today," Emmanuel said with a slight hint of pride.

"Good," Haymitch replied, steering them towards the cafeteria.

Emmanuel looked genuinely surprised. "Really? Effie would have screamed."

Haymitch expected that she would but he thought it was only fair that Emmanuel retaliated. If he had been in the boy's position, he wouldn't take it lying down either. At the back of his mind, he knew that it wasn't good parenting but he wasn't a parent and someone needed to teach the boy to fight and stand on his own two feet. The world is cruel out there.

They sat across each other at the hospital's cafeteria for a late lunch where Haymitch thought to inform him of the idea he proposed to Effie the day before. The boy perked up, his eyes lighting up at the possibility of going somewhere other than the Capitol and having his aunt discharged from the hospital.

"That's brilliant. I never get to travel before; the only time I left the Capitol was to find you in Twelve. I really think it's a good idea, Haymitch. What did Effie say?"

"She wasn't opposed to it."

"Awesome! Are you going to finish that?" he pointed at Haymitch's mango pudding. When Haymitch shook his head, Emmanuel reached out to finish the dessert. "What are the districts like? You must know you went on two Victory Tours before. What's the Victory Tour like?"

"I think the districts are different now," he told him. "I don't know."

"Oh," Emmanuel nodded. "And the Victory Tours? What's that like? It must have been fancy."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But – "

"I don't want to talk about anything related to the Games, Emmanuel," he said sternly.

"Okay, sorry. So, when Effie will be discharged? I miss having her around at home and I like the idea of travelling with her."

"She's brought it up with her doctor; we'll see how it goes."

"You'll be with us, won't you?"

XxX

The team of doctors' in-charge of Effie had a meeting to discuss her condition, improvement and health. From what he gathered, they were keen on the idea with only the slightest of misgivings.

"They hardly think a teenager would be a perfect person to monitor my well-being," she told them once Haymitch and Emmanuel came back from their lunch and gathered in her room. "Otherwise, they rallied behind you, Haymitch. They think the idea has merit and they're willing for me to try it."

"That's great, so when do we leave?" Emmanuel asked excitedly. "Where are we going? I'll make a list of things to pack, Effie, don't worry."

Effie threw him a sad smile. "Maybe not for a while yet, Em. They need an adult to keep an eye on me before they could release me."

Emmanuel looked confused. "What are you talking about? Haymitch is an adult."

"I don't think that's fair for Haymitch. He's done enough for us, sweetie. We can't burden him anymore than we already have," Effie replied, her eyes darting briefly to Haymitch.

The man in question had his back against the wall, leaning with his arm crossed as he listened to their discussion. Emmanuel's eyes locked with his in confusion and desperation. He's seen that look before; it was the same way he looked at Haymitch the day he came to Twelve.

"Haymitch?" Emmanuel called out. "You are going to help her, yes?"

Haymitch pushed himself off the wall with a long sigh.

"We could get her out of the hospital," he said as though Haymitch had completely missed out on their discussion. "You heard what Effie said, didn't you? They need someone, an adult before Effie would be released and that's you."

Emmanuel took a step closer towards Haymitch who said nothing in reply.

"Haymitch? You'll look after Effie, won't you? Just like how you're looking after me. Come on, Haymitch, let's go to the nurse's station and tell them that you're bringing her home."

He moved away from Haymitch towards the door, beckoning for the older man to follow him. Haymitch held his bright hopeful gaze. Emmanuel faltered when he realised that Haymitch had not moved an inch.

"Emmanuel," Effie warned him. "Em, sweetie, don't –"

"Why haven't you said anything? Isn't this what you wanted? This was your idea," he said as if Haymitch needed reminding. "We could take her away from here. She'll get better! I know she will!"

The adults in the room exchanged a look as Emmanuel grew increasingly agitated. Effie looked apologetically at Haymitch. He turned away from the two occupants in the room. A slight pressure had begun to build somewhere behind his eyes. Haymitch pressed his forehead on the glass window, willing the headache to go away. He wished Emmanuel would be quiet and stop badgering him while he thinks.

Of course Effie wouldn't be allowed to leave without proper supervision, not until the doctors and clinicians are certain that she would be able to cope reasonably well on her own outside the facility.

He may have given Effie the suggestion but he had failed to think things through. It was unlike him to not consider all avenues and outcomes. _Why did it not occur to me?_ Even as he mentally berated himself, he knew it was too late. Emmanuel may not have this in mind when he sought Haymitch's help at District Twelve but he knew now that there was a clear way for him to help Effie, Emmanuel would expect him to step up. This was what the boy meant, what he had hoped for when he went looking for Haymitch; a way to help his aunt out. Haymitch had inadvertently given the perfect suggestion and if he were to say no, the boy would hate him. He knew he would hate himself if he was in Emmanuel's shoes.

_Why does it matter if he hates me? He isn't anyone to me._

"Say something!" Emmanuel screamed, finally losing his temper.

"Emmanuel, manners!"

His face crumbled at the knowledge that Haymitch wasn't going to help them. Emmanuel fisted his hand in anger, his eyes red from the tears he refused to shed and marched out of the room. He slammed the door shut on his way out.

XxX

"Haymitch," Effie called out tentatively. "I'm sorry about the way he behaves."

Haymitch turned his head slightly to look at Effie.

"He has every right to be angry," he shrugged, crossing his arm across his chest.

"He has no right to expect that from you."

"I think this is exactly what he expects when he came looking for me, Eff."

Pushing the blanket aside, Effie got up from her bed and made her way over to Haymitch, leaning beside him by the window.

"I don't … Please don't feel like you're obligated to do anything. I'm grateful enough that you agreed to look after him while I'm stuck here. It was a good idea, it was tempting," she chuckled, "to get away from here, away from the memories and everything else but… It's not fair to you."

Haymitch kept quiet.

"Sometimes I think I deserve this, you know. I was relieved when I found out that I was alive after I woke up from that coma, that I had lived through the Rebellion. And then, I thought I got off easy. Why should I be alive when I've sent so many children to their deaths? That thought kept me awake at night. It plagued my dreams. It was too easy, too simple that I spent my time on edge waiting for the next bad thing to happen to me and then it did. I'm here, and maybe… perhaps this is my penance."

"Maybe your nephew is your penance, a chance for you to do something right," he replied instead.

He was aware that he had said nothing against her sending children for slaughter because for years, that was exactly what he had thought of all the escorts that worked for the Games.

He knew that she wasn't entirely at fault. She was born in a society that believed the Games were meant for their peace and that since the day she was born, she had been fed lies and manipulated by Capitol's propaganda. Sometimes, Haymitch entertained the idea that if he had been born at the Capitol, he may have the same mind set as them and it scared him to know how easily the mind could be moulded and warped to fit the agenda. He had seen first-hand how terrible it was to have that believe shattered because he saw Effie Trinket unravelled before his eyes when she gradually realised the cruelty behind the Games.

"He saved me, you know, even if he is unaware of it. I entertained thoughts of suicide the first couple of months. I've never attempted it," she added hastily when she saw the look he gave her. "I couldn't. I held on for him. He was a mess, Haymitch. He didn't understand why anyone would attack the Capitol, couldn't wrap his head around why the Games were wrong. It never occurred to him that the tributes were children as young as him. They weren't real for him like it was for us; they were just people he watched from the television screen."

Although unaware, Effie had just affirmed what he had suspected all along – that they were groomed to accept the Games without questions. It was the circumstances of their birth; this was the Capitol's curse.

"I could imagine," he told he truthfully. "He told me he never knew what it was like in the districts."

"He doesn't. I tried telling him about District Twelve once but his mother would have none of it. She supported District Two every year without fail, sponsored them sometimes."

"Oh? Can't remember District Two mentioning any Trinket sponsoring them," he frowned, trying to recall if they ever did.

"She used her maiden name," Effie paused. "I'm trying so hard to get better now. For him. We only have each other. Haymitch, if you could just continue looking after him a little bit longer, I would be so indebted to you. I don't know how long I'll be here but they only wanted to make certain I would be able to cope when I'm released and I'll show them that I can."

* * *

Emmanuel's angry & Effie's resigned to her fate. What will our dear Haymitch do now? He'll sort this little problem out in Chapter 9!

Leave me a review and tell me what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It took him a while to track down Emmanuel. He eventually found the teenage boy at the back of the building, perched on a fence morosely looking out across the street at the children playing in the park.

Haymitch approached him silently, pushing himself up and sitting next to Emmanuel on the fence.

"I know you're angry with me."

"I am," Emmanuel muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Nobody has ever said 'no' to you in your life, have they?"

He blinked owlishly, sparing at glance at Haymitch as he answered. "Ummm, no?"

"I thought so. Little Emmanuel Trinket always gets whatever he wants," Haymitch teased. "And when he doesn't, he throws a tantrum."

"Shut up, Haymitch. I don't get what I want. I didn't want my parents to die."

He sounded so bitter and the truth of the statement was undeniable that Haymitch ceased his mocking.

"I thought you said you would help her."

"I never said such a thing. I told you I'll come over here and see how she is, and I'll see what I can do," Haymitch answered.

"Well there _is_ something you can do. You do realise that if you agree to be her…" Emmanuel said, giving it one last push. If this doesn't convince Haymitch then there was nothing he could do. "What's the word? Custodian? Caretaker?"

Haymitch winced at the poor choice of words.

"If you agree, it would take a much faster time for her to heal and you wouldn't have to continue being my guardian. That is what you wanted, right? We could return to the Capitol once Effie's okay and you, to… Well, whatever you were doing before I dropped in on you. It's a win-win situation.

"Oh, is it?" his voice mocking and challenging. He turned to look at Emmanuel, an eyebrow raised dubiously.

Emmanuel seemed not to have picked up on the challenge, nodding enthusiastically; bright blue eyes wide with conviction.

"Listen here, grasshopper. This kind of things, this post-traumatic stress disorder – it's not like a fever, you understand? You don't just heal from it, there's no cure. I spoke to Dr. Abel. Recovery is an on-going process, it happens gradually over a period of time. She needs to learn to cope with her feelings and her memories which is why the doctors are not letting her live independently just yet until they're certain she has sufficient control over her memories and could manage even the most terrible, traumatic of the lot. You understand what I'm saying so far?"

"I – I think so. She needs support?"

Haymitch shrugged. "That's what I'm being told."

"So why won't you be there for her?"

"That's where you're wrong," Haymitch told him. "Who say I won't?"

He slipped his head into the inner pocket of his jacket and extracted a folded piece of paper. Haymitch handed it to Emmanuel who took it with a quizzical look on his face.

His eyes scanned the paper carefully, the official hospital seal stamped at the top along with the letter head. He read every single line before finally focusing his attention on a messy scrawl at the bottom - Haymitch's signature.

"You're not joking?" Emmanuel asked, hardly believing what he had just read. "It says here… you've signed right at the bottom saying you will take responsibility for her early discharge. Really?"

"Yeah."

Emmanuel jumped down the fence, a wide smile plastered on his face. He stepped forward before stopping himself as though he wanted to hug Haymitch, still perched on the fence but thought twice about it. He offered his hand instead. Shaking his head in amusement, Haymitch pushed himself off and took Emmanuel's proffered hand.

"Thank you, Haymitch! Thank you so much. Oh, this is awesome!"

Whatever reservation he had moments ago, evaporated rather quickly. Overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude, he circled his hand around Haymith's torso and enveloped the surprised man in a hug.

"Right, okay. Okay there, kid," Haymitch muttered, patting Emmanuel's back awkwardly.

"Do we leave now, then?"

"Walk with me," Haymitch instructed. "First thing you must know, Effie doesn't know about this. I thought it was better that way. It will give you time to clean up the mess you've made at the house before she comes home and sees it."

"Oh. Okay, good point. I'll get to it right away once we're home."

"Secondly, we're only going back to District Twelve. I know you have some elaborate grand plan in your head about visiting the districts but I didn't sign up for that. We're going to District Twelve and then we'll see; if Effie is up to it, the both of you can go to the other districts for a short trip or whatever."

He waited for that information to sink in, for Emmanuel to protest but none was forthcoming. When Emmanuel nodded his understanding, Haymitch continued.

"Thirdly, I didn't do this for you. I did it for her. I owe her for… Well you know what I owe her, you're aware of the story."

"Yep," he bobbed his head up and down, walking briskly to match Haymitch's long stride. "Is that all?"

"No. Lastly, there was the blunder you made with the family services about visiting Twelve and I have now solve that little problem by bundling you and your aunt to Twelve. If they come calling, at least you'll be there and they won't think you're a liar."

"So partly, it does have something to do with me, ergo, it is _for me_. Maybe just a tiny little bit? That you're doing this for me too, no?" Emmanuel teased, his thumb and index finger inches apart from each other.

"Nope. Not even close."

"Whatever you say, Haymitch. I know you care about us," he winked.

XxX

They made their way back to Effie's room with Emmanuel having a slight spring to his steps and a ridiculous smile on his face.

Effie was sitting on the arm chair Haymitch usually occupy, hunched over that day's copy of the newspaper, trying to complete a crossword puzzle. She looked up distractedly when she heard them enter.

"Hello, Effie! I got you something from one of the shops at the lobby," Emmanuel announced happily, passing her a plastic bag containing fresh strawberries. "Can't find melted chocolate, though. Sorry."

She looked at Haymitch, not quite understanding the change in her nephew's behaviour. He shrugged.

"Thank you, darling. The both of you … Everything okay between you too?"

"Yeah, things are awesome. We came to say goodbye, we're heading home. We'll see you tomorrow!"

He went over and gave Effie a hug. She kissed his cheek, telling him to be good and not give Haymitch anymore trouble that he already had.

"And remember to thank your teachers. Tomorrow's the last day of the school year," Effie reminded him.

"I will!"

With a wave, Emmanuel left the room, signalling to Haymitch that he would be waiting outside.

"What happened?" Effie rounded up on Haymitch the moment the door closed. "He was so angry and now, he's smiling and buying me strawberries? What's with the change of mood?"

"He's a teenager. You know what it's like. Unpredictable little shits."

"Haymitch!"

"Okay, okay," he held up both hands. "We talked. He listened. End of story."

"I find that hard to believe," she said, biting into the red juicy fruit. She offered one to Haymitch who declined with a shake of his head.

"Well believe it. Listen, I got to go now. Some stuff I need to clear with him," he jerked his head towards the door. "I'll be back tomorrow. Call me if there's anything."

Haymitch dropped a kiss to the top of her head; something he had never done before in all their time together and before Effie could register what he had just done, Haymitch was gone.

XxX

Emmanuel managed to clean the house in record time with minimal effort from Haymitch. His only contribution was to lift his feet off the floor when Emmanuel came barging in with a vacuum cleaner.

"You are honestly the laziest person I have ever met," Emmanuel grumbled. "You could help me hang the laundry, you know."

"I don't think so."

"Do Victors get an Avox? Is that why you've never done any household chores before, judging from the state of your house?"

"No, we don't. And Katniss assigned me a housekeeper a few years back. Actually, I'm surprised you could even lift a finger to clean this house or that you even know how to work a vacuum cleaner. No avoxes in the Trinket household, I presumed?"

"My family had one. But I learnt to help Effie around the house since I came to live with her. Why didn't you get married?"

"What?"

"Marriage? A wife?" Emmanuel raised his voice over the din of the cleaning machine.

Haymitch frowned at the unexpected question. It's difficult to be in sync with the way Emmanuel's mind work. He noticed how he could jump from one topic to another effortlessly, asking questions without even thinking if the subject matter was an appropriate topic of conversation.

"Not something I want to talk about."

That was that. The tone in Haymitch's voice warned him not to argue or press further for answers. Emmanuel dropped the subject, finished his chores and fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow. Haymitch staggered into his room not long after Emmanuel had fallen asleep and was woken up, what seemed like only a few hours later.

He had slept through the morning without realising and Emmanuel was trying to shake him awake. The boy had decided to come home and dropped his heavy back pack before going to the hospital only to find out that Haymitch was still sleeping. There were two voicemails from a frantic Effie Trinket wanting to know where Haymitch was and why he wasn't at the hospital that morning like he had been for the past weeks.

"He overslept, Effie. Don't worry, we'll be there soon," Emmanuel returned her call, trying hard to reassure her. Effie took a great deal of comfort in schedule and routine, and when Haymitch broke the routine, it set off alarm bells in her.

"Thanks," Haymitch mumbled after Emmanuel hung up the phone. He downed the aspirin tablets and laid his head on the kitchen counter, waiting for the medicine to kick in.

"You were drinking yesterday night after I went to bed, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Had a lot of things on my mind, I just needed it."

It was the truth. He thought about a lot of things especially the question Emmanuel had asked him earlier. It was a life he wanted before he was reaped – to marry his girl and have a family – and when Emmanuel had innocently asked him that, it led him to imagine how his life would have been like if the Games had not happened to him. He could have had a family of his own. He could have been happy.

It was a life he could never imagine having now and it just drove him to the liquor. He couldn't picture himself being domestic with a wife and children. He had forgotten what it was like to have a family and it had shaped his thoughts - he saw himself alone and he felt physically ill at the thought of dying without anyone by his side.

_There's Katniss and Peeta,_ he tried to comfort himself but that only serve to remind him that they had each other. He had no one.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

XxX

"No, we're being completely serious, Effie."

"But why?"

"What do you mean why? You're going home, come on. Let's pack up."

Effie shook her head adamantly.

"Effie," Emmanuel called out for her attention softly. "They're discharging you. You can go home today and then we're going to Twelve with Haymitch. He signed the paper which says he will look after you. Show her the paper, Haymitch."

He did and just like Emmanuel had done the day before, Effie scrutinised it carefully. While she read the contents of the release form, Emmanuel went over to the small dressing table and began emptying Effie's belonging into a duffel bag he had brought along.

"Em, cupboard – check for shirts," Haymitch snapped his fingers, reminding the boy in case he had forgotten.

He sat down next to Effie on the bed, her face obscure by locks of blonde hair that had fallen over as she bent down to read. Haymitch brushed her hair over her shoulders, tucking them behind her ears.

"Everything okay, sweetheart?"

Emmanuel glanced over his shoulder at them as he folded Effie's clothes carefully. He smiled at the sight of them, his sky blue eyes softening at how gentle Haymitch was with Effie. Somehow, he doubted Haymitch even realised that himself.

Effie looked up then. She folded the paper neatly and handed it back to Haymitch. "I can leave now? You're sure about this?"

"Not really," Haymitch shrugged. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do with you and Emmanuel over there, but I know what I _can_ do. I can get you out of here."

Despite everything that she had gone through, at the core of her being, Effie was still Effie. She was as bossy as ever. She directed Emmanuel as the boy swept through her room collecting her belongings, told him to fold her blouse carefully, and instructed him to separate her toiletries and keep them on the side pocket instead of dumping it together with her other items. Her hands tremble slightly as she orchestrated the cleaning of the room that had become her home for a few months, nervous and jittery.

"He's got it, Eff. The boy's got it. Leave him alone," Haymitch told her, arms folded as he watched Emmanuel rolling his eyes every few seconds. "Why don't you and I go out front and deal with the necessary discharge papers, alright?"

"Thank you, Haymitch," Emmanuel threw his hands up gratefully. "I need peace when I'm cleaning."

"Which was why I didn't bother you at all yesterday," Haymitch winked and led Effie out of the room.

It was an hour later when the three of them finally alighted from the taxi, and out into the sidewalk. Effie moved slowly; she took in her surroundings, looked at everything around and watched the people going about their usual business.

She stood close to Haymitch as they rode the lift up to her apartment, and when he thought back, she had remained close to him the entire journey from the hospital. He wondered if she was doing it unconsciously, seeking some sort of comfort or safety he wasn't sure he had the capacity to provide.

* * *

The line "I don't know what I'm supposed to do, but I know what I can do" was taken from Capt. James T. Kirk

In Chapter 10, District 12 awaits. In the meantime, please review :)


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The sound of metal pots and pans clanging and banging in the kitchen, and the sound of voices speaking to each other softly drifted to his ear, waking him up from his fitful sleep. He remembered his dream so vividly that it took him awhile to convince himself that he was still at Effie's apartment and had not lost both Trinkets in the train enroute to Twelve.

His mother had appeared in his dream telling him he could never do things right that he destroyed everything near him before disappearing in a puff of smoke. His brother came next, accusing Haymitch of replacing him with Emmanuel, sobbing hysterically no matter what Haymitch said to convince him otherwise. And then his girl joined his brother. She stood over them as Haymitch crouched over his brother, stroking the boy's back, glaring at Haymitch with eyes so red that he backed away in haste.

"You're bringing them home," she stated. "You think you can start a family with them. They'll die just like you let us all die."

Her laugh had been cruel and in the dream, Haymitch covered his hands over his ears screaming at her that it wasn't true, that he was just trying to help them. Then she was gone and he heard Effie's voice in his sleep.

"… should probably start packing. Better to be prepared."

It was then that he realised Effie wasn't speaking in his dream. She was talking to Emmanuel in the kitchen. His shirt was drenched in sweat and he was exceedingly tired even though, glancing at the clock, he had managed to sleep for five hours.

"When are we leaving? Has Haymitch told you anything?"

"No, he hasn't."

"I should probably call Peeta and Katniss," Haymitch announced himself as he entered the kitchen. "Tell them you're staying with me. My house could probably use with a bit of tidying up."

"When do we leave, Haymitch?" Emmanuel asked again.

"Whenever Effie feels like travelling."

"Oh," she replied, startled, unaware that it was up to her. "I'm… I'm fine with anything, Haymitch. Really. Whenever is convenient for you."

"Good. Then pack up, my home awaits me."

Haymitch walked out to the living room, a plate of toast in his hand. Effie's eyes lingered on his retreating back, taking in his sweat drenched shirt and the bags under his eyes. As Haymitch dialled Peeta's number, he heard Emmanuel in the kitchen, asking Effie about District Twelve.

"What sort of things would I be able to do there?"

"I'm not sure, sweetie. Haymitch said the district has changed, so we'll see, alright?"

XxX

The scene that faced him the next afternoon was a racket he had never experienced in his life before. Haymitch was sprawled on the sofa, a bag of chips lying on his stomach as he munched on them watching the Trinkets argue it out at the doorway of Emmanuel's bed room.

"Why can't I bring them both?" Emmanuel cried indignantly.

"You're bringing too many things," Effie said. "You've got your luggage, your backpack, your guitar case, and your violin case. Make a choice – the guitar or the violin – you cannot bring both."

"Too many?" he screeched. "Look at you! You've got two suitcases. TWO! And let me also point out your hand bag, lying at Haymitch's feet at the coffe table."

"My purse contains my medications. I'll have you know, young man, that my medications takes up a lot of space!"

Haymitch scoffed.

"You have two weeks of medication, Effie," Haymitch pointed out. "The rest will be sent every fortnightly thereafter. I checked with Dr. Abel, so I know."

She opened her mouth in shock. "You're supposed to help me not rat me out!"

"Oh, well, it was entertaining. Carry on," Haymitch waved his hand at the pair of them.

His own duffel bag was on the floor next to him and he had been ready since an hour ago. Haymitch opened a second pack of chips - something he was indifferent to until Emmanuel introduced him to it - watching them with a lazy, amused smile. He was enjoying the fact that for once, Effie was not screaming at him for something he's done. It was a refreshing change, to say the least. Usually Effie would be breathing down his neck, urging him to hurry or they would be late but today, well, today she had a different demon to handle.

"Alright, alright! I'll leave the violin at home," Emmanuel conceded with frustration.

Half an hour later, they were ready to leave the house. Emmanuel chatted all the way while they were in the taxi and he did not stop talking even as they sat together at the bench waiting for the train to District Twelve.

He was seated in between the two adults, oblivious to the smile Effie gave Haymitch over the top of his head.

"He talks when he's excited," she mouthed.

"Sounds like someone I know," Haymitch muttered.

XxX

The moon had begun to peek from the clouds when the train pulled into District Twelve. Emmanuel had his nose pressed against the window as he peered to see the station even though he had been there before. Effie had somehow fallen asleep, her head resting against Haymitch's shoulder.

Initially, Haymitch had found the whole situation rather awkward but as the train left District Eleven bound to Twelve, the weight on his shoulder became a familiar feeling.

"Hey, Effie, we're here."

Effie blinked, siting bolt upright, two bright spots colouring her cheeks. "Did I fall asleep on you? Oh, Haymitch, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine. My arm's a bit sore, but nothing a good massage wouldn't solve," he winked.

Effie blushed and dropped her gaze. It took his brain a moment to realise how that sentence had probably sounded to her.

"That's not what I –"

He broke off when Emmanuel knocked against the window from the other side, having already alighted from the train. He beckoned them to hurry, pointing to the two figures behind him, steadily approaching closer to where Emmanuel was.

"Effie!"

Peeta rushed forward and enveloped her in a hug followed by Katniss. Emmanuel stood beside Effie, looking at them shyly.

"Hello," he greeted. "Ummm, I never thanked you for your hospitality when I came by the last time."

"Oh, it's perfectly alright, you were preoccupied back then. You're all better now?"

"I'm fine, yes," Emmanuel smiled. "Haymitch took care of Effie like he promised he would."

Katniss bend forward slightly so that she was eye to eye with the teenager, even though at fourteen, Emmanuel was already about the same height as Katniss. "One thing you must know about Haymitch is that he's all bark but he doesn't bite. You figured that out yet?"

"I think so."

"Good," Katniss straightened up before turning to Haymitch and winked. "Peeta's truck is out front. Let's go."

Emmanuel called shotgun and slid into the front seat. He questioned Peeta about District Twelve, pointing to the various buildings he saw along the way.

"What's over there?"

"The meadow."

"What's the meadow like?" he asked quickly, barely giving Peeta the time to catch his breath.

"I'll take you there one of these days. How about that?"

"Awesome!"

Haymitch sighed dramatically at the back seat. "I have to live with his incessant chattering? As though dealing with one Trinket for nearly two decades isn't enough."

Emmanuel craned his neck to look at the adults at the back seat, directing his question at Katniss. "More bark than bite, right?"

She nodded in amusement. The rest of the journey continued in very much the same manner with Emmanuel grilling Peeta about the district and its lifestyle, while next to him, Katniss and Effie made small talk. Haymitch stared out of the window, the dream he had earlier replayed itself in his mind like an infinite loop.

_No, I'm not going to get them killed. The war's over._

"You're probably tired. So we'll leave you to settle in, but please, come over for dinner," Peeta invited. Haymitch didn't realise that they had arrived at his house.

"Thank you, Peeta. We'll be there," Effie smiled, closing the truck door with a click.

Opening the door to his house, Haymitch noted that the kids had indeed cleaned it. He could actually see the floor of his living room instead of it being covered by bottles of liquor or food wrappers or his clothes and his house smelt of something fragrant instead of the normal pungent odour he was used to.

He showed Effie and Emmanuel to their bedrooms and left them alone to unpack while he went down to the cellar, thinking that that would probably where Peeta or Katniss would have stashed the alcohol.

Haymitch was right. Lined neatly on the rack are his liquor bottles. He took a bottle off the rack and turned around, nearly bumping into Emmanuel.

"Woah," his voice was ripe with wonder. "Are these all yours?"

"Yeah, and this place is out of bounds to you."

Emmanuel snapped out of his trance and shrugged his shoulder. "Sure. That's an unhealthy habit, you got there," he said as they climbed the stairs up. "You're supposed to keep an eye out on Effie. You can't do it drunk."

"I know what I have to do," Haymitch replied, feeling slightly annoyed. "Go away and play with your guitar or something."

"Nah, I think I'm gonna explore this place. I'll be outside!"

XxX

Emmanuel was hardly at home over the course of the next few days. He was always out either with Katniss or Peeta, or wandering around the district on his own. It made Effie restless with worry but each day, he returned home in time for dinner, safe and with a million stories to share.

"You should be careful, Em," Effie had said one night.

"Why?"

She hesitated and when Haymitch was alone with her later on, she told him quietly that she was worried about how people would treat Emmanuel, a boy from the Capitol.

"It never occurred to me but what if they wanted to exact revenge? They could do it through him."

Haymitch made a sound that sounded somewhat between an annoyed grunt and frustrated sigh. He wanted to tell her to open her eyes and stop thinking so lowly of his people but held his tongue.

"He isn't the only Capitol boy in this district. There are others too - children of liaison officers. If you're worried about him being a foreigner - don't. There are families from different districts here now. We're all living together. It's not the same anymore since the last time you were here during the Quell."

That managed to put her slightly at eased although she still glance out of the window every few minutes if Emmanuel was slightly late for dinner.

Emmanuel on his part seemed unaware about how worried Effie was. While he made it a habit to always ask after Effie - if she was doing okay, if she slept alright and if took her medicines - he still kept it a point to go out and have fun. He ventured to the edge of the woods with Katniss who seemed to enjoy spending time with Emmanuel ("he reminded me of Prim," her voice soft as she told Haymitch over dinner once), promising him that she would take him deeper into the woods one day. Peeta brought him out to town, introduced him to the people that he knew and even allowed Emmanuel to man the cashier at his bakery shop sometimes.

"Effie, I met this woman yesterday. Her name's Greasy Sae and she sell soup. Wild dog soup!," Emmanuel told Effie that morning, shuddering slightly. "I've never had that before. Have you? During one of those times that you visited?"

Two weeks since their arrival, Emmanuel came home late for dinner on one occasion. Effie had called Peeta asking if Emmanuel had been with him but apparently, according to Peeta, the boy had gone off with his friends.

"Friends?"

"He's made a few," Peeta answered. "Listen, Effie, don't worry. I'm sure he's just lost track of time. If he's not back by eight tonight, I'll go search for him with Haymitch, alright?"

Fifteen minutes to eight, Haymitch was cursing the boy silently. Haymitch was in no mood to be venturing out at night looking for a teenager who didn't know how to keep time. Just as Effie was pushing him out of the door to go search for Emmanuel, the boy could be seen walking up the walkway carrying a huge cardboard box. He kept looking down at the box every few seconds as though whatever was in it would jump out to attack him.

"Where have you been?!" Effie screeched from the doorway.

"I'm sorry, I was with my friends. Her geese laid eggs a few weeks ago and it's hatched recently. Look," he pointed to the box that he had set down on the coffee table.

Haymitch peered in and saw two goslings with their yellow plumage sleeping against each other.

"Oh my," Effie breathe out. She reached out a hand to stroke the soft fluffy bird but quickly retracted it when one of them stared to move. "Why do you have them in the box?"

"They're kind of adorable, aren't they? I thought we could keep it."

"Absolutely not! Return it at once," Effie said. "You cannot just bring in animals to the house, Em."

"But it's Haymitch's house. Can we keep them, Haymitch? And raise them?"

"I'm not raising them. If you want to keep them, _you_ raise them. When they're grown up and have more meat to them, we can make a dish out of –"

"WHAT? No, no, we're not eating these poor birds."

"I'm joking," Haymitch winked. "It needs a pen."

"Can you help me build a pen?" he asked, ignoring Effie as the two males in the house moved to the back yard to find a temporary place to keep the goslings.

XxX

"I'm glad he's enjoying himself," Effie said, one afternoon, watching Emmanuel feed his pets. "Although I can't believe you let him keep the birds."

Haymitch said nothing. They've had the same conversation for nearly a week now with Effie absolutely refusing to come anywhere near the birds.

"You're spoiling him, and when we return home to the Capitol, those birds are going to be left alone," she commented.

"I'll look after it, and you send the boy back every holiday so he can take over," Haymitch answered simply.

Effie gave him a radiant smile, her eyes lighted up making the blue of her irises to shine beautifully.

"What?" he asked, feeling slightly unnerved by the way Effie was looking at him. Haymitch held her medications in the palm of his hand as he waited for her to swallow the pills one by one. Effie didn't answer him. "Is it better to be away from the Capitol?"

"It is," she made a face as she polished off the last pill with water.

"You should learn from your nephew – go out, take a walk or something. You've been here for three weeks and the furthest you've been is to their house next door."

"Give me some time, Haymitch. It's just – I don't know how everyone will react when they see me. I've done some terrible things to their children – "she broke off, her eyes darting everywhere but Haymitch.

"It's been two years, Eff. You'll see that a lot has changed," he tried to tell her. "You said we needed bread right? And that we ran out of milk?"

She nodded.

"We'll go get some tomorrow. We'll go to town."

"I – Okay."

"We'll just get the bread and the milk, and then we'll come back. And when you feel better, we can stay out a little bit longer, and you can irritate half the town just by being your usual flamboyant self."

She couldn't help but laugh softly at that. Of course he would try to help but it wouldn't be him if he didn't add in a snarky remark or a sarcastic comment somewhere.

"You've been talking to Dr. Abel, haven't you?"

"Of course not," he rolled his eyes.

XxX

"I'm taking Effie to town today. We need bread and milk," Haymitch said, watching Emmanuel arranged their breakfast on the table.

"Really? Cool! I'm going to help Peeta at his shop so I'll probably see you there."

Haymitch raised an eyebrow.

"Is he paying you for your labour?"

"What? I'm not working for him. I just hang around," Emmanuel said.

"Like a nuisance?" Haymitch inquired. His face was expressionless but Emmanuel heard the teasing in Haymitch's voice.

"Very funny."

As was his practice, Emmanuel disappeared right after breakfast. He zipped through the house in a hurry, clearing his plate and washing them quickly before stooping down to kiss Effie's cheek and waved at Haymitch as he dashed pass the front door.

"Ready?" Haymitch asked, waiting for Effie.

"Do I look okay? Or is this too much? Will it remind them of who I was?"

He looked at her. She resembled nothing of the Effie Trinket that everyone knew. Effie had stopped being that gaudy, colourful woman since she was rescued. She stood in front of Haymitch wearing light brown sandals, her polished toenails peeking out from it and she had on a yellow dress stopping right above her knee.

"You look fine."

Effie smoothened out her dress, took a deep breath and walked out of the house, ready to go into town.

* * *

I wasn't very sure about this chapter so I hope it was alright.

In Chapter Eleven, we'll see a change in Haymitch's and Effie's relationship.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Effie had never before been to any part of District Twelve except to Haymitch's house, the square while she was still an escort and Katniss' house recently. The town was not like what she had expected it to be at all. Then again, when she set out with Haymitch that morning, she had imagined it to be full of activities just like one of the malls in the Capitol.

The town was busy and the deeper into town they ventured, the more the crowd began to swell. However, unlike the Capitol where people rushed to be the first in line at a sale or falling over each other to get their hands on limited edition designer clothes, the town was busy with people milling about with their friends and neighbours, and stopping by at different shops simply to make small talks with each other. It seemed like everyone knew everyone else.

Children and teenagers enjoying their school holidays ran freely in each other's company without the burden of school dampening their spirits.

As Haymitch led her further, Effie became more self-conscious. She was thankful that Haymitch had slowed down so she could walk comfortably beside him without falling behind.

"They're staring at me," she whispered out of the corner of her mouth, her hand curled around his wrist thoughtlessly.

Haymitch looked around at the faces of the children especially those old enough to have their names in the Reaping bowl two years ago. They took one long look at Effie then at Haymitch standing next to her protectively and stayed clear out of her way. Haymitch clenched his fist, his shoulder rigid, waiting for the insults or the ridicule that would come. After a while, he began to relax, exhaling the breath he had been holding. They never said a word; most of them avoided her except for a girl.

"Is she Effie Trinket?"

"Yeah," Haymitch answered.

"She's the one you saved from prison? I saw the video of it a few years ago," the girl said.

He nodded in affirmative. Haymitch remembered the video. Plutarch had kept the camera rolling as they mounted a rescue attempt. Haymitch was only made aware of the existent of the tape after he returned to District Thirteen tired, aching and covered in dirt and blood.

"You've got a nephew, right? I've seen him around. He's nice and he plays good music at the bakery," the girl smiled.

Haymitch and Effie exchanged a confused look. He was about to ask what she meant but the girl had skipped off with her friends.

Some of the adults in the District Twelve treated Effie much in the same way as their children. They couldn't help glancing or staring at Effie as she walked with Haymitch which made her uncomfortable. They nodded their heads at Haymitch in greeting and while some were not friendly with Effie, they were not outright hostile with her.

"They're okay, aren't they?" he asked. "They take quite some time to warm up to strangers."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," he replied and in an uncharacteristic gesture, Haymitch squeezed her hand in assurance before releasing them just as fast. "A few more trips to town and I think you'll be okay."

She nodded.

"Will you come with me? I'll feel better with you around," she told him honestly.

He was silent. His mind recalled all the times Effie had screamed at him in frustration mumbling under her breath about how he could make himself useful by helping the tributes and all those years that she had been there for him, hovering silently in the back ground with a wet towel pressed to his neck, holding his hair back as he emptied his stomach. He never thought Effie Trinket would ever need him and yet, here they were, years later.

"Very well," he sighed. "I know you have a terrible sense of direction and without me, you'll be lost."

XxX

They bought two cartons of milk and much to Haymitch's surprise, despite her reluctance the day before, Effie spent quite some time at the different shops that had sprung up post-rebellion. As she entered a small clothing store, Haymitch waited outside having adamantly refused to partake in her frivolities. She walked among the racks and browsed through the items, before picking up a dress and holding it up in front of her for Haymitch to see through the glass window that separated them.

He looked at her blankly. Effie pointed to the dress she was holding and Haymitch frowned, not quite understanding what she meant. She rolled her eyes and a few minutes later, she walked out of the shop.

"I asked if the dress would look okay on me," she explained. "Clearly you've never gone shopping with a woman before."

Haymitch looked at her like she had grown a pair of horns. "Not sure if you've noticed but I've been occupied all these years. I haven't got the time to do something so mindless as to go shopping with a woman," he said disdainfully.

"You're free now and instead of wasting your time drinking, why don't you go out and you know, meet people?"

"You mean date people?" his voice held a note of disbelief, the corner of his eyes crinkling. "Are you volunteering yourself?"

"No!" Effie cried out, two bright spots colouring her cheeks. "Why would I?"

"Aww, Trinket, I don't know. Don't tell me you didn't fall for me at some point in your life? I know a lot of girls did back then. You're not one of those?"

"No," Effie said vehemently.

"But you're blushing."

"No, I have never … No, just … Can we please?" she gestured towards Peeta's bakery in front of them.

He laughed loudly, his eyes glittering with amusement and Effie could almost see that same arrogant boy standing on Caesar Flickerman's stage proclaiming that the Games was just as twice as stupid. It was that interview that made her noticed him. If it wasn't for that, he would just be another tribute from the poorest district in Panem.

"Still blushing," he said, as he walked past her into the bakery.

XxX

A bell jingle as Haymitch pushed the door open and he immediately heard the familiar strumming of a string instrument coming from within. Next to him, he heard Effie gasped in surprise, a hand covering her mouth.

Peeta stood behind the counter, his hand covered with white flour, an apron tied over his blue shirt. When he saw them, he wriggled his eyebrows and jerked his head at the other side of the room.

Emmanuel was sitting on a stool with his guitar in his lap playing a song to the crowd that had gathered. Some were sitting on the chairs and stools, and their tables held various assortments of bread Haymitch knew were made by Peeta and a few of them were standing around unable to find a place to seat.

"You've turned it into a café?" Effie asked.

"Yep, I started it only recently. It was unintentional. Emmanuel brought his guitar one day and while waiting for me to bring him to the meadow, he started playing and it attracted the customers. They stayed to listen to him play and then, what do you know? They bought my bread to eat while watching him and so therein came the idea for the café."

"So this is what he's been up to then? Entertaining your customers?" Haymitch asked.

Peeta shrugged. "He's got a talent so why not? He seems to enjoy it and it's the only time I get to hear Katniss sings."

"Katniss sings with him?" Haymitch asked.

"Sometimes. Not always."

Emmanuel saw them and waved. Haymitch raised an eyebrow and from the back of the shop he shouted, "did you ask Peeta for 20% of his profit?"

That earned him a smack from Effie and the crowd roared with laughter.

"I pay him in bread," Peeta leaned forward to whisper to them.

"You sure? Then why did I just run out of bread?"

"Okay, let me clarify, he asked for stale bread to feed his geese. Of course, he's brought me business, and I repay in kind. So he gets money, too. An undisclosed amount," Peeta winked.

After two more songs, Emmanuel stood up and bowed to the crowd, smiling so widely. A dark haired girl and a blond boy with hair covering his eyes wolf whistled simultaneously, cheering his name. Emmanuel rolled his eyes as he laughed. Another boy, whose hair was highlighted in blue jeered at him and his friend shouted, "your Capitol music sucks."

Effie gripped the sleeve of Haymitch's shirt at the same time that he moved forward instinctively.

"Shut it, Jacob!" the dark haired girl shouted, "Lucas is from the Capitol, too."

Haymitch and Effie later found out that her name was Emma and she was one of Emmanuel's friends.

"Easy there, Emma. I'm just joking. We don't mean him no harm," Jacob said as he thumped Emmanuel's shoulder playfully.

"Why didn't you tell us you play down at the bakery? I thought you said you were just hanging around like a nuisance," Haymitch asked as they walked home together.

"I said I was hanging around. _You_ used the word nuisance," he muttered. "I didn't want you to make fun of me."

"Nah," Haymitch shook his head. "I would have taught you how to strike a bargain with Peeta which could profit both of you."

* * *

This chapter was quite long that I've decided to break it into two chapters. I hope you find this enjoyable. There will be more Haymitch/Effie interaction in Twelve which was why this has to be broken into two parts!

Reviews?


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Haymitch and Effie spent a lot of time together. It was not by their design but seeing as how Emmanuel was often out with his friends, they had only each other for company. When Haymitch did take Effie out to town, they could often be seen talking quietly to each other. At times, Haymitch would say something that would make Effie laugh and smile, and she would insist on asking for Haymitch's opinion on the blue scarf that caught her attention, or "Haymitch, this damask patterned rug would fit nicely in your parlour, what do you think?".

Over time, Effie learnt that the blouse she had picked was acceptable if he kept quiet with his arms folded as he waited impatiently at a remote corner watching Effie do her shopping. If he found something intolerable or repugnant to his taste, he was generous with the unwelcomed caustic and sarcastic comment, and she would quietly put the item back in the rack without much of a fuss.

The shopkeepers and owners began to warm up to Effie as she continued to frequent their shops over time. The other district dwellers learnt to tolerate her presence and Haymitch found that to be a hopeful start. While he was aware that tolerant and acceptance occupied two different social spectrum, he was certain that in time to come, Effie would gradually be accepted.

_But she will be returning to the Capitol. This arrangement is only temporary. They won't be here forever._

The startling realisation tasted bitter on his tongue and his heart began to ache at that thought. Haymitch tried to push it away and listened half-heartedly to Effie reading out the list of items she needed to buy.

"Are you listening?" she interrupted his thoughts.

"Hmm, you wanted to buy a new pair of socks for the kid," he repeated.

His hand fluttered up to his neck and rubbed it uncomfortably, silently hoping that Effie had not noticed that he was distracted. He couldn't explain the way he was feeling. The sudden pang of loneliness he felt creeping into him at the thought of living in solitude once more was a strange emotion. Haymitch had been alone since he was sixteen and it was something he was used to but now, after weeks in the presence of Emmanuel and Effie, the thought of letting them return to the Capitol was unbearable because if he was being truthful, which man would want to be alone for the rest of his life? He had stumbled into this trail by chance, pulled along by a free-spirited young boy and Haymitch did not want to head back out feeling desolate.

Casting his own petty feelings aside, Haymitch willed his attention back to Effie. He noticed how Effie had gained some of the confidence she had lost when she realised that no one had insulted or ridiculed her thus far whenever she walked down the street. He still found it peculiar that she still asked him along whenever she felt like going out.

It wasn't an easy task for her. It took some cajoling and convincing before Haymitch would roll out of his bed, muttering heavily under his breath.

"You're capable of going out on your own, Eff. It's not that difficult, just keep on walking."

"Of course I know it's not difficult," she huffed, tucking the corners of his bed cover neatly as she waited for him to change. "It's just nice to have company."

"Why don't you get Katniss or Peeta for a change? And where's that blasted nephew of yours? Isn't he supposed to take you out to the meadow with his friends for some picnic?"

"That's tomorrow," she told him. Effie picked up a pillow and scrunched her face. "You drooled on my pillow!"

Haymitch gave her a side long glance. "Maybe that'll teach you to sleep in your own bed next time, and take your pillows back to your room, will you? It's like a fortress in here!"

"Are you guys flirting? Please don't flirt when I'm still in the house!" Emmanuel shouted as he dashed past Haymitch's room.

XxX

It wouldn't be wrong to say that they slept together. But it would be inaccurate to assume that anything sexual occurred because all they ever did in bed each night was talk before finally falling asleep.

Effie's nights were as horrific as his. She whimpered, mumbled, screamed and thrashed in her sleep. The first night that she was there, Haymitch heard her cries through the bedroom door as he prowled the house in his insomnia with a bottle of vodka. He was waiting for the exhaustion to take over his body and for the alcohol to take effect so he could finally close his eyes and rest but the sound of her sniffling pulled him towards her room. For the first week, he ignored the sounds of her crying at night, thinking to himself that if she needed his help she would approach him. When she still chose to suffer in silence, Haymitch elected to do something about it.

"Eff," he knocked twice on the door. "Are you crying?"

"No," she choked.

"I'm not deaf and you're not exactly quiet about it. I'm surprised the boy could sleep through the racket you're making."

"I'm sorry, Haymitch. I'm – I'm okay. I'll be quiet," she said through the door.

"Open the door, Effie. Let me in."

He waited for her impatiently, fingers drumming the side of his thigh. Finally, after he's had enough, Haymitch knocked again. "Trinket, open up!"

He heard her soft padded footsteps on the floor as she crossed the room. The door cracked open and Effie peered up at him with eyes rimmed red. Haymitch rubbed his own eyes tiredly, his half empty bottle dangling in his hand.

"Let me in," he repeated.

Haymitch accompanied her that night. He settled down on the armchair in her room while she lay on her sides at the bed. They talked the entire night; a civil conversation without either of them being snarky with each other. He had offered her his white liquor to help her sleep but she refused saying she hated the feeling of hangover in the morning.

Effie had asked him about the day the Victors broke out of the arena, his role in it and how some the victors were left behind. He smiled sadly and as he promised her at the hospital, Haymitch told her everything she wanted to know. Every detail and every truth; no matter how painful it was for him to relieve it and for her to hear it. On the third night, almost hesitantly, Effie finally asked the question that had been in her mind for the past years - if he ever regretted leaving her behind.

"Every day," he admitted quietly, "especially when I found out Snow had you. I regretted what happened to you; what they did to Peeta and Johanna and Annie."

"Not all of it was your fault, you know that. You couldn't have possibly known that they'd go for Annie, too. She wasn't even at the Capitol at that time," Effie whispered, slowly reaching out for his hand.

Each night when he came into her room, Haymitch would tell her fragments of the narrative and answer the questions she had for him, which was plenty. Effie would fall asleep at some point, tired and emotionally exhausted. Haymitch never knew how it started but he supposed recounting those events took a toiled on him but he ended up in bed with her; sleeping by her side with his arms wrapped around her small waist, their fingers laced together.

If he had expected Effie to turn around in his arm and smiled up at him the next morning like how it was in all those brainless Capitol movies he watched at the Penthouse, Haymitch was wrong. Thankfully for him, he had no such expectations as to Effie's reaction and was in fact, rather amused by the look of wild panic in her eyes.

"What would Emmanuel think?" she asked. "Oh goodness, I'm supposed to set an example. I'm his aunt! I'm sorry, Haymitch, you have to go before he wakes up. Please."

"Alright, I'm going. Stop harassing me," he grumbled, raking his fingers through his dishevelled hair. "It's not like we did anything of _that_ nature."

The next night, Haymitch stayed in his own bed. He had just uncapped his flask when there was a knock on the door. He knew almost instinctively that it was Effie since he could hear Emmanuel in his room strumming on his guitar. She stood there in her night gown looking rather uncertain.

"You didn't come by tonight," she stated. She didn't meet his gaze and bit her bottom lip worriedly.

"I didn't know if you wanted me to after how you reacted this morning," he shrugged. "Besides, there's nothing more to the story. You already knew the rest of what happened during the Rebellion."

Effie shook her head. "No, you haven't told me why you disappeared after."

"I didn't disappear," he denied crossly. Haymitch turned and walked back into his room before throwing himself down on his bed. "I've been here all these while."

"No phone call, no visit, no letters. Nothing. You disappeared," Effie said as she trailed after him, closing the door softly behind her. She seemed to hesitate for a split second when she reached the edge of his bed. The uncertainty vanished almost instantaneously and she hitched the edges of her nightgown and climbed into his bed. She sat with her legs folded next to Haymitch who was lying down on his back.

"I had this very strong feeling that you were angry with me for leaving you behind and I've seen you angry, you're quite terrible when you're angry. I thought it's best to just remove myself from your life."

"You're a foolish man," she chuckled lightly. "You shouldn't throw away your friends like that. Especially after all we've been through."

Before he realised it, Effie had curled at his side with her hands pillowing her head. He threw her a slightly annoyed look although he was anything but annoyed. Haymitch stared up at the ceiling, one hand folded on his stomach while the other held on to his bottle tightly. He had been exhausted and sleepy when he slept in her bed yesterday but he was very awake and extremely aware of her knees pressing onto his thigh, the smell of her hair and the warmth radiating off her.

"I thought you were worried what Emmanuel would think?" he swallowed, trying hard to calm the raging in his heart.

She blinked at him sleepily, her lips drawn into a tired smile. "I'm still worried. But, I – I feel safer with you. You've helped me with the nightmares. Besides, it's like you said, we're not doing anything wrong, he'll understand."

And Effie was right. It turned out, Emmanuel did understand as Haymitch soon came to find out. It became almost a routine for them - if Haymitch was passed out drunk in his bed and couldn't come to her room, he would wake up to find Effie in his bed. They had never done anything more than sleep but Emmanuel saw Haymitch left her room one morning.

Over breakfast, the boy had wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. Through a mouthful of cereal, he made a casual observation, "I saw you this morning creeping out of Effie's room. So… you wanna talk about it?"

"What?" Haymitch gulped the piping hot coffee in surprise and cursed loudly as felt his tongue burnt. "I was not creeping and no, I do not want to talk about it."

"Mhmm, you're not denying that you were in fact in her room? How long have you two been sleeping together?" he asked in genuine curiousity.

Haymitch wasn't often rendered speechless but there he sat, gaping at Emmanuel.

"Oh my god, how could I not know this? My room is on the same floor," the boy exclaimed as he thought out loud. "Hang on a minute, I always knew something was up. This was why she was always talking about you! She's told me stories about you for years! Now I know why. The both of you are in –"

"Stop right there," Haymitch commanded, knocking the boy's head with his spoon. "I'm not sleeping with your aunt! Not in the way you're thinking," he hissed, casting a furtive glance towards the door in case Effie walked in. "She's got nightmares and –"

"Ahh, of course, _she's got nightmares,_" Emmanuel grinned. "Whatever, adults are so complicated. Why can't you just say the words and be done with it?"

"Do I even want to know what you're talking about?"

Emmanuel ignored him, drinking his orange juice with a loud slurp. "If you hurt my aunt, my guitar is a force to be reckoned with. It could knock you out," he warned. "You take care of her, Haymitch, you promised at the hospital, remember?"

For years to come, that was what Haymitch did. He looked out for Effie and took Emmanuel under his wings until the boy grew up to be a fine esteemed young adult who would bring tears to Effie's eyes each time they attended one of his performances.

* * *

**A chapter full of Hayffie! Please review & tell me what you think of Twelve**

**Watch out for the epilogue which will be up soon!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Haymitch had never quite considered the possibility of the Trinkets permanently staying in District Twelve. To him, they belonged in the Capitol and would return to their home one day - except they never did.

On several occasions, Emmanuel had told them how much he would detest having to leave his friends behind when they return to the Capitol and he had voiced out to Effie jokingly about staying in District Twelve. Emmanuel wasn't aware that Effie had given it some serious thoughts and after several long discussions with her nephew days later, they decided it was time to leave the Capitol behind to embark on a new life. None of them had anything left to ground them to the Capitol and the city held far too many memories for them both.

Throughout it all, the two of them managed to keep their discussion to themselves and left Haymitch in the dark. Haymitch did not have a single inkling of their plans.

He only found out three weeks before they were due to return to the Capitol for the start of a new school term. Haymitch was sprawled on the sofa with his long legs dangling on the edge as he drank from his silver flask. He turned his head towards the coffee table, reaching out for the bags of chips Emmanuel had bought from town when he saw the edge of a green coloured folder poking out from underneath the morning's newspaper. Pulling it out and pushing himself to a sitting position, Haymitch flipped open the folder containing District Twelve's housing plans. There were pictures of different houses and landscapes complete with price quotation next to it. In her neat organized manner, Effie had made little notes and highlighted the prices of several of houses.

There was a particular picture of a shop house which Emmanuel had circled with red ink and there was a scrawl next to it – "This one looks awesome". He read the description beneath the picture – it was on the second floor of the shop house with two rooms, one of them being a master bedroom. The living room looks spacious from the picture and there was an adjoining kitchen. Haymitch was immersed in the multiple estate plans that he didn't notice when Effie walked into the room. She had gone out with Emmanuel and his friends to the square earlier that day for some ice cream and had finally returned home.

"I'm back," she announced, closing the door behind her. "Em went straight to the bakery so he won't – what are you reading?"

"I don't know, Eff," he looked up, startled. "You tell me."

Effie crossed the room towards Haymitch who was looking at her and waiting for an explanation. She sat gingerly next to him and took the papers from his hands.

"We're looking at houses here," she stated. Effie made a noise as she shuffled the papers Haymitch had messed up neatly together again.

"What for?"

"We – Emmanuel and I, we've talked about it and have given it due consideration. We liked it here in Twelve and after much deliberation, we think it's a good idea for both of us to stay here permanently. There's nothing for us in the Capitol and he's got friends here, Haymitch."

"What about his friends at the Capitol? He's going to just abandon them?"

"He doesn't have any. You mean all these while you didn't know?" Effie asked incredulously.

"What do you mean he doesn't have friends in the Capitol? Sure he's got friends," Haymitch insisted.

She shook her head. "He used to me but the ones he was close with had migrated off and left the Capitol to resettle elsewhere. The other students at school were not very nice to him and those whose relatives played a role in the Rebellion. They were blamed for the downfall of the Capitol, and made fun off. You know how children are," she said.

Haymitch found that information hard to believe and tried to recall if the boy had ever mentioned any friends. He came up with nothing. With the exception of Benjamin Adams who Emmanuel had punched in the face, there was no mentioned of anyone else from school.

"Not all of them are like that, of course, and I kept telling him to mix with boys his age but he refused. He said he'd rather be on his own with his music. What can I do?" Effie shrugged, looking slightly defeated. "It's my fault that they found him guilty by association and since he's happy here, moving to Twelve seems like the least I could do for him."

Haymitch kept quiet. If it was true that Emmanuel had little to no friends back in the Capitol that would certainly explain why the boy was never at home during the day while he was in Twelve. For the first time in a while, he's finally had some friends to spend his time with and knowing that Effie had Haymitch for company, he was free to be with others his age.

"I see," Haymitch answered. "Seems like a lot of planning and discussion had gone into this. When were you gonna tell me, Eff?"

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you earlier," she said, covering Haymitch's hand with her own and squeezing in apologetic manner. "We wanted to tell you after we bought a house and everything else have been settled including enrolling him in a school here."

"Fair enough. What did Dr. Abel said about this? You've discussed this with him already, I hope?"

"Of course," Effie gave a reassuring nod. "He said it was my decision and he mentioned that a fresh start would be good for me."

She leaned back against the sofa and tucked her feet underneath her. Effie flipped the folder open to a page she had dog eared and pointed it out to Haymitch.

"What do you think of this house, Haymitch? Em likes it and I do, too. It's not too far from town. Another good thing about it is that it's a ten minute walk away from Victor's Village. Do you know why that's a good thing?" Effie asked, smiling cheekily. "We won't be in that close proximity for you to find us irritating and imposing on your life; and it's near enough for a visit every now and then."

Haymitch frowned and when he didn't say anything, Effie continued. "We went to see the house this morning before ice cream. It isn't too shabby. Once we've decorated, I'm sure the house will be homely. The price isn't too bad either."

She smiled and nudged his side when he took too long to give an opinion.

"You're awfully quite," she said. "From my experience, I take it that you approve?"

"What's wrong with my house?" he asked, deadpanned.

"Hmm?" Effie looked at him in confusion. "There's nothing wrong with your house. Emmanuel cleaned it yesterday, and he's mopped the – No that's not what you meant, is it? What's the question again?"

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Is something wrong with the living arrangements we have going on that you had to go look for a house elsewhere?"

Effie blinked at him and looked down at the papers in her lap. For a long while she did not reply.

"You're wasting my years here, Trink."

"Are you… Is this your way of asking us to stay with you?"

He shrugged. "Why not? I haven't got the time to help the boy move his geese and build a pen when the both of you move in to your new house. You know what? Give me that," he snatched the paper from her and looked at the shop house the Trinkets were interested in. "There is nowhere in that area that he could even rear his geese! And let me make it clear, I'm not looking after his pets. I've said it already."

"Alright, just calm down," Effie said and the phrase sounded odd on her tongue. It was always Haymitch asking her to be calm.

"Emmanuel's doing the chores in this house when he's not out gallivanting around town and you're here to tell me when the train from Capitol will be arriving so I can restock my alcohol. There are benefits of having the both of you around."

Effie was looking at him in a way that made him nervous. The thought of them leaving had been occupying his mind for the past few days and knowing that they had both decided to move to Twelve made him inexplicably joyous although he can't quite begin to explain why. The sudden thought of the empty house or of waking up alone without Effie curled by his side was weighing him down.

"And, if you think about it - why waste all that money renting house when you can stay here? There's no logic there, sweetheart. I mean, sure if you feel obligated, you could pay rent I supposed. We could work things – "

She put up a hand to stop him. "All you needed to do was ask Haymitch. Trust me when I say, Emmanuel would jump at your offer," Effie smiled. "There is really no need to list out the benefits or try to convince me."

His brow crinkled as he looked down his nose at her.

"I thought you had a thing for list," he sniffed disdainfully. "You said _he_ would jump at the offer… And you?"

Effie covered the bottom half of her face with the papers she was holding and laughed. Her eyes shone with amusement and after her laughter had subsided, she said, "I would, of course."

"Right," he nodded as he unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck. It was a gesture that Effie knew too well. He did it whenever he was uncomfortable. "I know it's difficult to part with me and my sunny personality once you started sleeping next to me."

"You're so full of yourself," she huffed, hitting his arm with the folder before walking away.

XxX

Some years later, Haymitch found himself dressed neatly in a shirt that Effie had ironed out, taking the little extra effort to make sure he was sober on that particular day with a clean handkerchief in his pocket for when Effie gets emotional.

Just as he expected, and the very reason why Haymitch had not drank anything since morning was the way Effie was behaving. The wedding was in an hour and Effie was in the middle of a panic attack. The duvet was gripped tightly in her hands as she tried to regulate her breathing. Her pupils were dilated and she shook her legs nervously, occasionally muttering under her breath about needing to relax.

Haymitch gave a slight shake of his head as he stood in front of the vanity mirror tucking his shirt into the waist band of his pants. His eyes flickered to Effie and he watched her in amusement through the reflection from the mirror.

"Do you need a paper bag?" he joked.

"No, and I would appreciate it if you take this wedding seriously."

"You're taking it way too seriously enough for the both of us."

"You need to check on him," she instructed.

"No," he refused. "I just went over to his room because you begged me to half an hour ago! Peeta's with him now."

She huffed and crossed their room towards the door with the full intention of checking on Emmanuel herself. Effie had already stepped out of their bedroom door when Haymitch caught hold of her elbow and steered her towards the front door.

"Don't bother, sweetheart. I've already sent them to the Square. Emmanuel's not in his room anymore," he grinned at the look of disbelief on Effie's face. "Let's go."

The Square was where outdoor weddings and other functions were held when the occasion called for it. It had been a place where children stood in fear with their hearts in their throats but like everything else, it had a new purpose post-rebellion.

The place was already filled with guests when Haymitch and Effie arrived. He spotted Emmanuel standing next to Peeta at the altar that had been set up and raised his hand in greeting before guiding Effie over to meet her nephew.

"Everything's on schedule," Peeta said helpfully.

Effie nodded but her eyes were focused on Emmanuel standing in front of her in his handsome white suit. Out of habit, she fixed his tie although it was already perfect and smoothened out the groom's lapel.

"I can't believe you're all grown up, sweetie," Effie choked, hugging him tightly. "You're going to have your own family and I'm just… I'm just so…"

"Alright, alright," Haymitch pulled her away, gently. "That's quite enough. No need to cry before the ceremony even started."

"Don't stumble over the words of your wedding vow," Effie said, squeezing in the last minute advice. "You've written it and memorized it and you'll be fine."

"Are you trying to convince him or yourself?" Haymitch whispered to ear as they settled down at the front row.

"Oh, be quiet, you insufferable man," she huffed clearly not appreciating the way Haymitch seemed to enjoy making fun of her. He laced their fingers together and she rested a hand on his thigh.

As they waited for the bride, Emmanuel's eyes swept through the room before stopping at the front row where he knew Effie and Haymitch were seated. His eyes searched for Haymitch and when their eyes locked, Haymitch could immediately tell how nervous the kid was. He did not raise the boy for the past ten years without being able to read Emmanuel's body language. Haymitch nodded reassuringly and leaned back against his chair.

Effie cried silently when the bride and groom exchanged their vows and buried her face in Haymitch's chest when Emmanuel kissed his bride.

"I want to get married just to exchange vows, Haymitch," she hiccupped.

It was the silliest thing he had ever heard but Effie was known to say odd things at times.

"We don't have to exchange vows, Eff. You know what I'll do for you and I know how you feel about me. And that's enough," he replied softly before kissing the top of her head.

Effie nodded and he stroke her hair silently, a comforting gesture Effie was used to after years of being held in his arms when night descend and the nightmares took hold of her. The nightmares had lessened in frequency over time and the post-traumatic stress disorder that had thrown them in each other's path after the war had gradually gotten better through both of Haymitch's and Emmanuel's constant support.

Her nephew had faithfully accompanied her through every hospital visit and had not once missed Effie's appointment with Dr. Abel even when he had moved back to Capitol four years ago.

Emmanuel stayed at Effie's apartment in the Capitol when she transferred the title deed to him once he was of legal age. It was easier for him to travel since he was accepted on a scholarship position to the Capitol's School of Performing Arts where he met his wife.

Haymitch had opened up liquor store at the town in District Twelve much to Effie's chagrin, replacing Ripper who was presumed deceased when District Twelve was bombed to the ground. Emmanuel had given him the idea one afternoon as they both worked under the hot sun fixing the geese pen.

Effie had opposed to it, claiming that a store filled with liquor would just prompt Haymitch to drink more, therefore, driving him to an early grave and her disapproval was what drove Haymitch to set up the business eventually. She had berated her nephew for days for giving such a dreadful idea to Haymitch.

"Haymitch isn't doing anything and since he loves drinking, why not turn his hobby into something fruitful?" Emmanuel defended himself. "He knows so much about liquor and wine, and it's such a waste to not use that talent. Peeta taught me to utilize talents, you know!"

"It is not a talent," Effie rebutted. "It's alcoholism! It's an addiction."

"I think it's a brilliant idea," Haymitch jumped in and watched as Effie frowned.

"He is fifteen, Haymitch! You can't possibly be taking the idea of a fifteen year old boy seriously!"

That being said, Effie had never expected the silver lining that came with the liquor store. Haymitch drank considerably less. He wasn't sober by any means and there were bad days when he needed time alone with a bottle of drink in his hand. But Haymitch was never too drunk like how he was during his years as a mentor and he personally thought he deserved a medal for managing to not pass out cold for years.

He claimed that being surrounded by all types of liquor and alcohol had put him off slightly but what he never told Effie was that it was their presence in his life that made a difference. He had Effie and Emmanuel depending on him and having a business meant that he was always too occupied to be wasting his day drinking.

"We did it, Haymitch," she squeezed his hand, jolting him out of his reverie and back to the present. "We raised him well."

He smiled and kissed her temple. "It was no party, let me tell you that."

Haymitch never intended to replace Emmanuel's father, something which Emmanuel was grateful for. He played the role of an uncle and a friend to Emmanuel. Haymitch allowed Emmanuel his first taste of whiskey at the age of sixteen which sent Effie on tirade that lasted for days; taught the boy how to charm the ladies, a skill Effie was curious to know where he himself had learnt it from; and once, when they both needed a brief reprieve from her presence, they conspired by sending Effie off on a holiday because she was getting too much on their nerves in her usual overbearing manner

Half of the time, Effie and Haymitch had no idea what they were doing with Emmanuel or if they were raising him right and it was one of those things that they managed to come to a consensus without much argument. Looking at him now filled him with a sense of pride and when he looked over at Effie dabbing his handkerchief to her eyes, he knew she felt it too.

He had come a long way and Emmanuel had inadvertently saved him for a life of bitterness and solitude. Haymitch never regretted opening his door to the teenage boy with the peculiar, quirky knocks. Emmanuel still knocked on his door in the same manner whenever he came down to District Twelve for a visit.

* * *

And I've come to an end for Family Matters. Many thanks to everyone who has given me feedback and reviews, and for putting the story on alert and favourite. Thank youu so much! Your encouragement means a lot & this story may have ended but be sure to continue reading Consortium!

Please leave a review & let me know if you've enjoyed Family Matters! Thanks & bye!


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